A protest against a new film claimed to negatively depict deeply loved religious figures has been held in Bradford.

The Lady of Heaven portrays the life story of Lady Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad, weaved together with the tale of young Iraqi orphan in modern day.

It has now been released nationwide, including places with high Muslim populations such as Blackburn and Manchester, through mainstream cinema chains such as Vue, Cineworld and Showcase.

But some Muslims have expressed feeling hurt and angry over the film, suggesting the plot goes against their understanding of historical events.

The peaceful protest outside Cineworld in the Leisure Exchange on Friday was one of several conversation-sparking demonstrations across the UK.

“It’s been viewed in Iran,” one protestor told the T&A.

“It’s gone quite global.”

Protestors of all ages could be seen holding picket signs – some reading: “It’s not ok to offend 1.8 billion #handsoffoursuperheroes” and “Stop the screening”.

Speaking to the crowd through a megaphone, one man said: “We are very offended. We have a right not to be insulted. You talk about freedom of speech but where does your freedom of speech go when it goes to criticising your policies, when it goes to making critical analysis of your version of history.”

He added: “You have no right to tell us our history. We will not let this film go on further.”

Why are people angry about The Lady of Heaven?

The independent film has been banned in shia majority nation Iran, where it was believed it may cause ‘divisions among Muslims’, and Egypt.

Other countries such as Pakistan called it ‘sacrilegious’.

The Prophet Muhammad’s face is a mixture of computer generated and lighting imagery.

The film said holy personalities were not represented by ‘any one individual’ and were made up of computer-generated images.

Critics say it also looks to liken an ISIS assault on a woman to an inaccurate story of how two of the Prophet’s closet companions were responsible for an assault on his daughter Fatima to the fourth caliph Ali, revered highly by both Shias and Sunnis.

Other critics have said the depictions of caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, the wife of the Prophet, Aisha and other negative characters were black as this ‘stems from the racial bias against darker skinned people’.

Roshan Muhammed Salih of 5 Pillars has been another vocal critic of the film, having watched the film.

He said: “Most Muslims will find the invective against three of the most beloved companions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) shocking and disgusting.”

The T&A has approached Cineworld for comment.