The Lady of Heaven and the racism of identity politics

Let’s do a little thought experiment. Imagine that, this week, a group of hardline Christian conservatives started protesting outside cinemas up and down the country, demanding that a ‘blasphemous’ film be banned. What do you think the response would be? They would be rightly ridiculed by politicians and commentators from across the political spectrum. They would be told in no uncertain terms that, no, we do not live in a theocracy and, yes, they should kindly piss off. And if the protesters doubled down, if they carried on intimidating cinema workers and patrons, if they started making thinly veiled threats even, the authorities would step in to keep the protests peaceful and stop activists shutting screenings down by force. Because in a liberal, secular society you do not allow religious bigotry and mob rule to override freedom of expression.

Now ask yourself why none of that principled, confident defence of liberal values has materialised this week, in response to those mobs of hardline Sunni Muslims who have turned up outside cinemas, protesting against Shia-made film The Lady of Heaven – a film they insist is ‘blasphemous’ for its CGI depiction of the Prophet Muhammad and its negative portrayal of certain Islamic figures. Only a handful of MPs have said anything. The great and the good have been nowhere to be seen – nor, it seems, have the police. After hundreds of protesters showed up outside its cinemas in Sheffield, Bolton, Birmingham and Bradford, Cineworld was forced to pull the film nationwide, as it could not guarantee the safety of its staff or its patrons. A smaller chain, Showcase, has followed suit. And the protesters are now emboldened. One of them, in Birmingham, gave an interview in which he threatened ‘repercussions’ to those who disrespected Muhammad, suggesting he and his fellow protesters would ‘lay our life on the line’.

So, in 21st-century Britain, films can be withdrawn from cinemas across the country for being ‘blasphemous’. If religious nutcases can muster a few hundred protesters they can effectively dictate what the rest of us can watch. And yet everyone is staring at their shoelaces, for reasons that are depressingly obvious.

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