LEAVING EGYPT or ARE WE THERE YET???????

Egypt bans movie 'Exodus'

By Susanna Capelouto, CNN   |  updated 1:27 PM EST, Sat December 27, 2014

(CNN) -- Another Hollywood movie is running afoul of a foreign government this month.

"Exodus: Gods and Kings" was banned in Egypt.

"The Ministry of Culture bans the film 'Gods and Kings' for historical inaccuracies," the Egyptian agency said in a statement.

Does 'Exodus' have a race problem?

The movie, which stars Christian Bale as Moses, is a re-enactment of the biblical story of the Jews' escape from slavery in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, during the time of the pharaohs. Australian actor Joel Hedgerton plays the Pharaoh Ramses in the 20th Century Fox production.

gyptian Culture Minister Jabir Asfour slammed the film as "Zionist."

"It shows history from a Zionist viewpoint and forges historical events, therefore it is was banned in Egypt," according to state news agency EGYNews.  In 1956, the same biblical story was told in "The Ten Commandments" starring Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Ramses. That version was filmed on location in Egypt.

"Exodus" is the latest in Hollywood's string of religious-themed movies released this year.

In March, several Muslim countries banned the blockbuster "Noah,"saying the depiction of Noah -- whom Muslims revere as a prophet -- is forbidden in Islam.

News of the ban comes on the heels of the limited release of "The Interview," the movie that provoked North Korea to vow "merciless" action against the United States over its lampooning of leader Kim Jong Un. On Saturday, North Korea called U.S. President Barack Obama the "chief culprit" who forced Sony to "indiscriminately distribute" the picture.

In Islam, Moses is considered to be a Muslim and a prophet of Allah.  On 26 December 2014, it was reported that the film was banned in Morocco. The BBC reported that "Although the state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre (CCM) had given the film the green light, Moroccan business website Medias24 said that officials had decided to ban the movie from being screened the day before its premiere." On 27 December, the United Arab Emirates announced that the movie will not be released in the country. Authorities say they found "many mistakes" in the story. "This movie is under our review and we found that there are many mistakes not only about Islam but other religions too. So, we will not release it in the UAE;" said the director of Media Content Tracking at the National Media Council.