As we reported last week, Egypt, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates all decided to officially ban Ridley Scott’s Moses movie Exodus: Gods And Kings for various religion-related reasons. Egypt didn’t like that it “gives a Zionist view of history and contains historical inaccuracies,” but Morocco and the UAE specifically objected to scene in which a child is used to represent God. Now, according to The Wrap, Fox has officially edited out the “offensive passages” and Exodus has been approved for screening in Morocco.
Morocco’s Cinematography Center says the requests to edit the film weren’t about censorship, “but a move to respect people’s beliefs.” The Center also added that “this shows that the respect for freedom of creation, like all freedoms, does not mean ignoring the sentiments of citizens, particularly religious ones.” However, as The Wrap points out, visual depictions of God are outlawed in Morocco, so it doesn’t seem like Fox actually had any choice in the matter if it wanted to release the film at all there. Either way, at least more people will be able to enjoy Exodus now. Or, you know, not.