The executive producer of a film which has been pulled from a cinema’s listings following protests has responded.

The Bolton News reported yesterday that screenings of The Lady of Heaven have been cancelled at Bolton Cineworld following a demonstration by some Muslim outside the cinema in The Valley on Sunday.

Now the executive producer has responded to the actions of the protestors.

Malik Shlibak posted on Twitter: “'While I vehemently disagree with what these protestors stand for (death of free speech), I wholeheartedly thank them for the free publicity, we’re already seeing an absolute flood of new audience who had never heard of our film.”

Cineworld Bolton pulls The Lady of Heaven film after protest

The Lady of Heaven has been described by Bolton Council of Mosques as ‘blasphemous’.

More than 100 people turned out to protest on Sunday afternoon against the showing of the film.

Signed by the chairman, Asif Patel, it stated: “You many well be aware of the recently released film ‘Lady of Heaven’ which has caused much distress to Muslims across the globe.

“It is underpinned with a sectarian ideology and is blasphemous in nature to the Muslim community.

“It grossly disrespects the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in many ways and is deeply disturbing to every Muslim.

“It also misrepresents orthodox historical narratives and disrespects the most esteemed individuals of Islamic history.

“The storyline begs the question to what extent the producers had considered the huge impact of this film upon the Muslim community and notions of sacredness dearly held by them.”

It adds: “In Bolton, we are a very diverse community and are very respectful of each other’s culture and honour on community cohesion.

In a statement, Cineworld said: “Due to recent incidents related to screenings of ‘The Lady of Heaven’, we have made the decision to cancel upcoming screenings of the film nationwide to ensure the safety of our staff and customers.”