A number of soap operas have been censored because they contained sexually explicit or suggestive scenes.
The censorship department also objected to scenes featuring a gratuitous amount of smoking and drug taking, which it says are abundant in most soap operas.
Scenes that ended up on the cutting-room floor include one featuring a female dancer dancing erotically in a bar.
The department felt that such footage was not suitable for viewing during the month of Ramadan.
It cut out three scenes from a soap opera where the male lead is seen in his underwear, with the female lead drinking alcohol in his apartment.
The second scene shows the man smoking drugs and the third shows drug traffickers smoking hashish.
The question that needs to be raised here is this. Are these scenes only considered Haram only in the month of Ramadan or are they classed as forbidden in every month of the year?
The promiscuity that is shown in all our visual media represents the true meaning of art for many people. Art, in fact, is more sublime and is there to spread ethical values and serve society.
It is really regrettable that the concept of low art is dominating the minds of many people who call themselves artists. They are gaining their living from substandard art.
The incomes of female singers and dancers have reached unbelievable figures. They are much more than the incomes of scientists and thinkers.
Al-Ahram quoted a writer of one of the censored soap operas. He said the cuts were meaningless and unjustified. He also claimed that cutting out any scene is a crime against the writers and the cast.
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