Islamists in Birmingham disrupted a screening of the recently released blockbuster Bollywood movie named ‘The Kerala Story’ which is being criticized by the leftist cabal in India because it shows the reality of ISIS indoctrination and conversion of Hindu women. A group of protesters led by a Kashmiri Islamist identified as Shakeel Afsar stormed the screening on Friday at a Cineworld theatre in Birmingham.
According to the reports, Afsar, 35, entered the cinema hall with a group of violent protesters and caused the film to be paused. The video of the incident was posted by the British Muslim news website ‘5Pillars’ and has been shared widely. It is pertinent to note that 5Pillars was also at the forefront of calling for violence and spreading fake news leading to the Leicester violence, where Muslims had targeted Hindus. It is also pertinent to note that a Temple had been gheraod by Islamists in Birmingham during the Leicester violence.
In the video clip, Afsar along with at least two others could be seen asking to speak to the cinema manager about the alleged ‘Islamophobic’ nature of the film. As chaos broke out, audience members were spotted confronting the activists and demanding them to leave, as per the reports. The Cineworld crew was forced to stop the film as a result.
A theatre employee was heard advising the audience, “If you want to watch this film, you should calm down first I am going to resume this film. We’re trying to deal with this in the best way we can. We’ve paused the film, we’ve turned the lights on, we’ve called the police.”
The protesters claimed that the film was propaganda from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). They also accused the audience of being members of the BJP and RSS and asked them to speak to the manager about the alleged “Islamophobic nature” of the film.
“This film is lies. This film is made to divide us. We have lived together for many years. Narendra Modi has endorsed this film. An extremist has endorsed this film. We will not allow it,” Afsar said. He also chanted the slogans of “Free Kashmir”.
Shakeel Afsar last year forced cancellation of ‘The Lady of Heaven’ screenings in UK
Afsar, a businessman and real estate developer, sponsored a push to have ‘The Lady of Heaven’ removed from theatres last year. As per the reports, ‘The Lady of Heaven’, released last year, tells the story of the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s daughter Fatima from a Shia Muslim perspective.
The Muslim protesters led by Afsar reportedly demonstrated outside the cinema theatres in the UK and held placards that read, “Our Prophet, Our Honor’. The theatres in the UK were hence forced to cancel all screenings of a film about Islamic history for security reasons following massive protests.
Afsar was banned by UK court after he ‘inflammed tensions’ amid protest against LGBT lessons at Birmingham school
Further after protesting against the teaching of LGBT values in Birmingham in 2019, he was also forbidden from holding future demonstrations there. Shakeel Afsar was a lead protester among the British Muslim mob of around 300 protesters who demonstrated against LGBT lessons being taught at Anderton Park Primary in Birmingham. He was also accused of ‘inflaming tensions’ by inviting a controversial imam who claimed anal sex, paedophilia and transgenderism were being taught in schools to a demonstration.
The Imam Mullah Bahm was seen holding up a picture of a gingerbread man with genitalia during the largest demonstration, which took place outside the Sparkhill school and attracted more than 300 protesters, including small children. Bahm yelled accusations that there was an ‘agenda’ behind school teachings and urged for large-scale demonstrations, stating it was important to demonstrate that ‘Muslims are not asleep’ on this topic.
Afsar claimed he had never met Bahm and that he had not invited him to the demonstration during the cross-examination. He said he was not aware of Bahm’s plans to deliver such a contentious speech and that he did not “endorse” it.
However, a video depicting Afsar introducing the imam at the rally, holding up the drawing of the gingerbread man, and momentarily holding the microphone as Bahm spoke was later played for the court. Later Afsar, his sister Rosina Afsar who had two children at Anderton Park but had since removed them and Amir Ahmed were banned from coordinating protests outside the school.
Shakeel was reportedly ‘bitterly disappointed’ by the court ruling and had said that he would continue to protest in the same area.
‘The Kerala Story’ also called off by pressure group ‘Muslim Engagement and Development’
An advocacy organisation called Muslim Engagement and Development or MEND has also urged its followers to ask theatres to stop showing The Kerala Story because it will “undoubtedly fuel Islamophobic tensions and divisiveness,” according to the group. The film was internationally released on May 12 and has been facing criticism from leftists.
MEND, also known as “Muslim Engagement and Development,” is viewed as a pressure advocacy organisation that has been charged with promoting an Islamist agenda. As a co-founding organisation of the awareness month campaign, several of its staff members, including senior leadership, have come under fire for allegedly supporting extremist causes such as spreading antisemitic conspiracies and downplaying terrorist attacks.
About the Kerala Story
The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen, has become the second-biggest success of the year in India, exceeding the lifetime receipts of Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, in less than two weeks. The multilingual project, featuring Adah Sharma and written and directed by Sudipto Sen, has garnered a lot of attention since the makers released its trailer. Liberals and the opposition particularly the Left and the Congress have labeled it as a propaganda piece and demanded a ban on its screening.
The movie revolves around Shalini Unnikrishnan, played by Adah Sharma, an innocent Hindu woman from Kerala, who is brainwashed by her Muslim friend and gets converted to Islam and marries a Muslim man. The lead actress soon realizes that she has been trapped in a huge terrorist web after she is raped, separated from her only child, and then forced to serve as a sex slave.
