Such movies should be more controled by age groups and some shouldn’t be shown at all. : G, PG, PG-13, NC-17, R
These letters and characters represent movie ratings according to sex,violence, and parental advisories. From well before the 1950′s movies have been violent,gory, much bloodshed and sexually based scenes.A few movies from 1950 such as THE DISEMBODIED, DAUGHTER OF JEKYLL, and NIGHT OF THE DEMON, were listed as suitable for people under 18. Newer movies such as Amityville Curse,Childs Play 2, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Vodoo Dawn, Pet Cemetary,The Ring Virus and the lastest ones a Saw VI , and Roland Emmerich ‘s Doomsday 2012 all depict horror, bloody end of the world situations and danger, which in some cases makes people panic and wonder what all this viewing does to the young people and adults of our countires and nations.My thought would be that over 95% of movies shouldn’t be allowed to be in theaters at all. Even programs such as “SMURFS” , teach that majic is something thats good and should be thought of as something real, and this is a program for small children.I agree, many movies are not halal.

While I do agree that most films these days are violent, there is an amount of personal and parental discretion that must be used. The Saw movies and whatnot ARE R-rated, and if any parent takes a child to see that, then that is their personal failing at parenting, and shouldn’t be blamed on the movie itself. And if you ARE of age and think such a film isn’t to your liking, simply don’t buy a ticket to see it. Banning the things you don’t agree with won’t make them go away, and indeed may encourage people to rebel against the ban, as per the old saying of all mothers “don’t put a bean up your nose”. What will a child do if told not to? He’ll go stick a bean up his nose just to see why Mommy told him not to.
As for children’s shows…that is again, the realm of proper parenting. I’ll take the Smurfs as an example. A person at or above the age of reasoning (I’d say anywhere above a mature age 6) knows that some things are purely fantasy, but often hold underlying messages. For example, one of the smurfs uses a burst of fairy dust or magic to save a lost puppy. If the child asks, it is the parent’s responsibility to explain that while magic is make-believe, it is good to help people and animals, that it is good to be a nice and caring person. The same could be said for the Harry Potter book/movie series. Many condemn it, claiming it promotes satanic activities/witchcraft. Again, most well-reasoned individuals can separate fantasy from reality and see the underlying messages of bravery, teamwork, and friendship the series portrays.
So it’s not about what is being shown. It is about the mindset, maturity, and mental processes of the viewers.
Closing your eyes doesn’t make the sun vanish, just as banning certain films will not make those films disappear.

Hi, being a muslim myself, i believe that perhaps horror movies should be catorgorized as “unislamic”. Most of them display very gorey, bloody, satanic content. All of which are against religion in general. I am a person who loved horror, I like to be scared and believe strongly in other realms and the afterlife. However, some things should not be tampered with. I don’t believe in contacting spirits through whatever means.It is extremely dangerous.Banning such movies will only make them more appealing, I do beleive it is a personal decision upon an indivdual and what their spirituality means to them.

It seems that if one is going to equitably apply the ruling of what is forbidden then all films or more to the point anything on television or that is video recorded goes contrary to Islamic teachings since all of it is reflecting images of living things. So that would also mean that all those Islamic scholars that have their lectures and the like recorded and then sold on dvd are doing wrong; but they won’t talk about that.
Horror movies may reflect things such as fantasy or give seemingly satanic messages however they also teach that there are consquences (often grave ones) for doing or messing with things one should not and so in that there is a positive message. Historical documentaries would also be deemed inappropriate since they are often filled with speculation on “what may have happened” and this speculation is passed off as truth even if there is little to no evidence to support it.
What bothers me is when people want to pass judgement on something and then seek to eliminate or ban it when most often it is their own personal view that says something is wrong and they figure that everyone else is too weak to handle things. When Muslims do it I find that it is suggesting that the faith of all other Muslims is so fragile that anything – no matter how small and insignificant it is -will cause them to stray. If anything it is the creation of a state of oppression that has the greater potential to cause someone to stray from the path of Islam.
I’m a Muslim but also a fan of movies including horror movies and am not ashamed. Sometimes we need a momentary escape from reality because these days reality is depressing and more harmful to one’s physical and emotional well-being than any movie could ever be. Quite frankly there hasn’t been a good horror movie made in decades; most of them today are nothing more than jokes.

This article was printed in the New York Times three days ago and needs to be cited properly. To the editors of this site, please make sure to list the source of articles. Claiming them as your own work is unethical and is stealing.

i believe that a movie doesnt define our beliefs as muslims.We must take into consideration that its make believe and a bunch of computer and camera tricks.I mean if thats the case then even the G rated movies,as well as comedies arent halal.Then we would have to go to the extent to say that actors and actresses are hypocrites.

There is no way to defend censorhsip. Any attempt to stifle freedom of expression is wrong. We must never be afraid of ideas. Without democracy people are turned into automotans–non-thibnking machines. We are intelligent human beings with the right to form our own opinions about movies, books, television etc. Who has the right to tellus how to think? No one.

I am so angry at the thought of censorship that I must add another statement: How can any one person or group of persons decide that they and only they have the right to determine what you and I watch in the movies? How is it decided that a certain group can tell us how to think? We, all of us canmake up our own minds about these things. If you don’t like a movie, don’t go to see it; if you don’t like a tv show, turn it off! I am so afraid that in the name of religion or pure thinking or what ever you call it — democracy will fall by the wayside. Haven’t we had enough of despots? Democracy is a vital necessity for everyone — Muslims, Jews, Christians, etc. We have the God-given ability to think for ourselves. Never abandon that!

Though I am not a Muslim, I am very interested in Islam and am always reading about it. I find that it is a beautiful religion steeped in humanism which is why I wrote the two comments above. (Sorry I forgot to incolude my name in the second comment). I find it impossible to believe that Islam is opposed to freedom of thought. I am sure it is not. Humanism and democracy go together. And I know that my Muslim friends agree with me because we talk about it constantly. I read this site every day and I find so many beautiful thoughts expressed here. Love, Ilene

Though I am not a Muslim, I am very interested in Islam and am always reading about it. I find that it is a beautiful religion steeped in humanism which is why I wrote the two comments above. (Sorry I forgot to incolude my name in the second comment). I find it impossible to believe that Islam is opposed to freedom of thought. I am sure it is not. Humanism and democracy go together. And I know that my Muslim friends agree with me because we talk about it constantly. I read this site every day and I find so many beautiful thoughts expressed here. Love, Ilene

people have the right to decide wat they choose to watch .even if others don’t agree with it .horror movies ain’t any worst then soap operas and comedy shows or others gory movies that show blood and other violence .people who don’t like horror don’t have to watch them .but at the same time can’t stop other people who do want to watch them .maybe they should n’t allow other voilence and gory movies too then i don’t agree with getting rid of horror movies .

I am from Malaysia and a non-muslim. I like horror movies and nothing beats a good scare or two. As for the Puteri Umno, they are a bunch of political motivated morons. The cinema can easily put up a big sign board discourage the muslims to watch and which may potentially corrupted their morals. There is absolutely no need of force censorship. As simple as it is, if you don’t like to watch horror movies, just don’t watch.

aslam alaikum i agree eith this topic the movis that is shown in hollowood is verry not good to muslim brother and sisters so at least muslim community should take a certain action on movies that is realsed in hollywood easpecialy rated movies but to my sense i dont think horror movie can be very harm.

Horror movies are specifically made for mind control to enslave people “the masses” and to embed within them a real sense of fear to create what psychologists call irrational fear. Some examples of these fears include fear of your boss, the fear of loosing your job, the fear of being poor, the fear of dying and last but not least to be a coward and to fear governments, figures of authority and mankind more than the fearing Allah!
—————————-
Before you start responding to this blog please take a moment to think for a minute about this article.

…..You’re kidding, right, NZee?
Fear of loosing one’s job or being poor is not irrational at all, especially in today’s troubled economy. In fact, it’s a very healthy fear that makes us work harder to keep our positions, and thus it often improves productivity in the workplace.
Fear of God is always a good thing…but creating a state in which only exists what the government approves of is fascism at its finest. Destroying or prohibiting something just because you don’t agree with it is exactly what the Nazis did with all the Jewish literature back during World War 2. Countless pieces of history and fictional literature were lost forever simply because the current government “didn’t think the material was good for the citizens”.
And anyone with a half-ounce of common sense knows that movies are (more often than not) fictional, and are not to be taken as reality. Most intelligent adults can indeed separate reality from fantasy. Mind control? I think not.
Also, that article refers to the human fear instinct and its contribution to our survival skills, it mentions NOTHING of “movies as mind control” or “enslaving the masses”.
Horror movies are made to scare and entertain the audience, not to “control their minds”. If you fear that movies will control your minds, I humbly suggest you stay home and not go to the movies. But please don’t ruin it for the rest of us who do choose to view such films. Freedom of choice is such a wonderful thing, given to us by God Himself, and to snuff that out in an attempt to control people under a twisted government is abhorrent and completely contradicts the idea of free agency.

Selam Aleykum
Perhaps this is biased on my part as I am a lover of horror films, however I am also a Muslim. I may not be the best and some may not even consider me among them but that ties into my point.
Our faith and our Book is the last of it’s kind, yes we should preserve it and yes we should cherish it but a part of that is also not forgetting what Islam was originally and what the Prophet (SAW)brought to us. It was not a message of censorship and oppression, it was a message of liberation and justice. It is made very clear by not only the Prophet (SAW) but also our Holy Quran that religion cannot be forced and that those who believe and don’t believe, the sinners and the saints should be left to Him. Personally I feel the imagination is a blessing, as is fear. Without the blessing of horror how can we learn what beauty is? Our ability to imagine and manipulate our emotions in a controlled way is uniquely human and I don’t think that should be censored. But ultimately here is the tie in to my point earlier. If horror movies are haram, then I am sincerely wrong, but the relationship between a person and God is between that person and God. Frankly if your connection to The All Mighty is so weak that a movie would break it, maybe the problem isn’t the movie. This is true of any one in any religion. Instead of censoring what brings others joy, you may want to turn inward, learn about your self, and strengthen your connection with Allah/God. “Sheltering” someone from what you THINK is haram should not be interchangeable with oppressing them. I know this may sound a bit of a melodramatic response to censoring a horror film, but it transfers over into many other injustices committed in the name of Islam, the Quran, and Allah. That is ultimately the most haram.

It’s very clear:
1. you go to the ballot (even PAS support this), or
2. you go to court.
Why so bitter?

In Islam if something is not forbidden, it is allowed. Horror movies are works of fiction and nothing more. Having the government ban the movies on grounds of being unislamic or detering one from Islam is not the role of an Islamic government. They do have the right to ban prostitution, gambling, alcohol, pork, etc but to impose the haram label on something that is not, is not the role of government. That instead is the role of the head of each household. And it is up to that fiqure who should decide what limits should be. Fiction books, stories, and movies that depict vampires, and the like are make believe, and can be considered like fire side chatting of tales. They dont increase ones religion or decrease ones religion. But when a person takes things to far and starts to idolize those fiqures or partakes in halloween parties and dressing up, that is imitating the west in their festivals and that is against Islam. For many horror movies can be considered a release, but for those that over indulge and cross the line of halal and haram, the parent or head of household should restrict and teach why not to do such things.

I think that good and evil exists in all things. Horror is a fictional way of telling a story of good verses evil. Hold fast to Allah and read your Quran.

I once used to enjoy horror flicks as a child because it dealt with imagination on the darker side of life. And like Humbly Yours I am a Muslim. Before I embraced Islam and in becoming an adult horror flicks seemed to worship satan in subtle ways. As a Muslim, seeing horor movies only through previews now,horror flicks seem to deal with evil on earth and in the afterlife.If this is true, it is haram to engage in the works of a sick minded group or individual whose freedom of expression violates the religion. Satan is an avowed enemy. Enjoying what his followers create is a certain path to the Hellfire.
May Allah forgive me if I’m wrong.

Fat Tech
While most horror movies do often deal with the theme of human and supernatural evil, the central themes of the movies often revolve around overcoming one’s own faults and failures to combat those evils. At least to me, they tell a story of good versus evil, and the consequences of letting evil win. Thus we must be aware of what the human mind is capable of, and correct ourselves when we see ourselves heading towards such evil. Most supernatural horror movies deal with monsters created by a mad scientist or brought about by participating in evil ceremonies. Thus we learn to avoid such things and be aware of what we as human beings are capable of doing when we go wrong. And most regular horror movies deal with very real problems such as murderers. By learning what could drive a person to commit such a crime in the movie, perhaps we can prevent these things from happening in real life.
I enjoy the creative and cinematic elements of horror films, that is true. But I appreciate them simply for the effort and collaboration between directors and actors, the angles of the cameras, everything that took so much time, talent, and effort.
I also LEARN from such films, recognizing that Ouija boards are definitely not something I’d want to mess with, and that going power-hungry and mad always leads to disaster and sometimes outright horrible inventions, even when the intent is originally good. Power and greed can warp the most innocent and well-intentioned people into madmen, and recognizing that fact is the first step in avoiding such behavior as it may apply to my own life.
I think that snuff films would be the only truly evil horror films out there, those that actively promote the taking of a life without any cause. But here in the States, at least, I don’t know of many theaters that will show such films, besides some film festivals that don’t usually make it to a national or international showing. Usually such films are low-budget, and easy to avoid, as they aren’t available to the general public.
Morality of horror films aside, the real problem is the fact that a government is becoming increasingly despotic and attempting to further censor the freedoms of its citizens.

Well, one must remember a movie is a movie. Horror is just a sub-genre and not representative of any faith. Also, one can choose whether or not to see it.

I don’t think it’s fair for a government to have the power to ban horror movies in Muslim nations or any nation for that matter. I happen to be a horror fan and I realize there is some movies that really push the limits when it comes to horror, but there are many horror movies that are suspenseful and psychological, therefore I think those should be allowed. This was a very informative article, not to mention I didn’t even know that other countries would possibly be so hard on the horror movie genre.

I will suggest to learn quran yourself and you will find the truth. Quran guide us towards nature and show us the path where we all are one. Quran teach us how to convert our individual thinking into collective thinking so that peace prevail in our society.http://www.learnquranonline.net