The Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the May 5 release of the film The Kerala Story, alleging the movie “demeans the entire Muslim community, particularly Muslim youth, and it will result in endangering the life and livelihood of the entire Muslim community”.

The film, which purports to show that thousands of girls from Kerala have been converted to Islam and forced to join the Islamic State in West Asia, has evoked howls of protest in the southern state.

The writ petition by the Jamiat is yet to be listed for formal hearing. During the morning mentioning time earlier, a bench of Justices K.M. Joseph and B.V. Nagarathna turned down a plea by senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Nizam Pasha for urgent listing of an interim application (IA) for a stay on the release of the movie. The application had been moved in a related case of “hate speech” being heard by the bench.

The Jamiat petition filed through advocate Ejaz Maqbool has pleaded that the movie, if allowed to be released, is likely to cause hatred and enmity between different sections of society. It has made the Union home and information and broadcasting ministries, the censor board, the production house Sunshine Pictures Pvt Ltd and the film’s director, Sudipto Sen, respondents in the petition.

“...The movie demeans the entire Muslim community, particularly Muslim youth, and it will result in endangering the life and livelihood of the entire Muslim community in our country and this is a direct infringement under Article 19(1)(g),” the petition stated.

According to the Jamiat, the crux of the trailer is that Hindu and Christian girls in the state are being converted to Islam and made to join the IS, a process in which the girls are lured by their Muslim friends.