The Muslim Rights Concern has demanded a ban on an upcoming movie featuring actress Nancy Isime and others wearing the Islamic purdah, or niqab, while engaging in criminal activities.
The group claims the film portrays Muslim women in a negative light and incites hostility against them.
In a statement released on Thursday, MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, criticized the film as “satanic” and harmful. The statement read, “An extremely anti-Muslim film has been released into the Nigerian movie industry. The upcoming film, which was recently unveiled by Nancy Isime, shows women in purdah brandishing dangerous weapons and robbing banks. It is Islamophobia taken to the highest level. This film is satanic, repugnant, and provocative.”
Akintola argued that the movie aims to depict Muslim women as criminals and could lead to public ridicule. He added, “It is aimed at portraying Muslim women as criminals with a violent proclivity. The film is capable of inciting the public against Muslim women. It may also expose Muslims in general to public ridicule and opprobrium.”
He also suggested that the film is part of a larger plot against Muslim attire. “We believe that the film is the handiwork of Muslim-haters and part of the plot to stop Muslim women from wearing hijab and niqab,” Akintola said.
MURIC has urged the National Film and Video Censors Board to investigate the film and place an immediate ban on it. Akintola added, “To Nigerian Muslims who have inundated our communication channels with video clips, voice notes, and other types of messages, we have this to say: please remain calm and peaceful. You have spoken loud and clear.”
He advised Muslims to avoid taking the law into their own hands and to trust the authorities to handle the situation. “Our religion brought a message of hope and peace to the world. We will not allow anyone to paint our women, our mothers, our wives, our daughters, and sisters in the colours of Shaytan,” he said.
The film, which has sparked outrage, shows women in hijab and niqab holding guns in a bank robbery scene. Some social media users have expressed their anger. Latifat Adewunmi Jumah wrote on Facebook, “The niqab/hijab is not an armed robbery attire! The niqab/hijab is not an attire for concealing identity. If you needed to conceal your identity for a perfect robbery role, you could have used a nose mask or worn a mask. Why wear Islamic attire?”
Another Facebook user, Alfa Shehu, criticized the involvement of a Muslim actor in the film. “And one of our brothers from Ilorin is kuku in the movie with them. Hypocrites! It is these same people who will turn around tomorrow and say women in Niqab are doing this and doing that,” he commented.
MURIC’s call for a ban continues to gain traction as more people voice their concerns about the film.
