AP   

Islamabad, Jun 4: Pakistan banned cinemas from showing the movie ''The Da Vinci Code'' following protests by the country's minority Christian community.

Although the film has not been screened in any theater in mostly-Muslim Pakistan, a government announcement said authorities decided to ban it out of respect for the feelings of Christians, some of whom have said the movie is insulting.

The ban came a couple of days after Christians staged protests in two cities against "The Da Vinci Code," demanding a global ban on the movie. Christians make up about 3 percent of Pakistan's 150 million people.

The film version of Dan Brown's murder mystery novel is based around the premise that Jesus Christ and one of his followers, Mary Magdalene, had children whose descendants are still alive.

Minister for Culture Ghulam Jamal told state media that the movie was banned as it contained blasphemous material on Jesus Christ.

"Islam teaches us to respect all prophets of Allah mighty, and degradation of any prophet is tantamount to defamation of the rest," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan.

Shahbaz Bhatti, a prominent Christian leader in Pakistan, hailed the ban and thanked the country's leadership for "making the right decision". He said the ban will go a long way to ensuring sectarian harmony.

Bhatti last week wrote letters to the country's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and superior court judges, demanding a complete ban on the sale of CDs or screening of the movie in theaters.

On Saturday, he said, "The Da Vinci Code is a sacrilegious act in the guise of freedom of expression and fiction. It has hurt the religious sentiments of Christians and Muslims throughout the world."

He also criticized Brown, saying the author had "evil intentions" and wanted "to undermine the historical as well as theological truth about Jesus Christ" as presented in the Bible.