Egyptian film “Mawlana” provokes outcry over view of religion and state

Jan 23 An Egyptian box office hit that highlights the religious establishment’s cosy relations with the state has provoked a backlash from Sunni Muslim clerics, with some calling for the film to be banned. Adapted from a novel by prominent journalist Ibrahim Eissa, “Mawlana” tells the story of a popular television preacher who struggles to reconcile his religious principles with demands and pressures from politicians and security agencies as well as ordinary human temptations.