Protests over "The Da Vinci Code" escalates worldwide as Christian groups from Asia and other places plan boycotts in an attempts to block or shorten screenings.(file photo)

    BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Protests over the movie "The Da Vinci Code," due to release worldwide on Friday, escalated as Christian groups recently planned boycotts in an attempts to block or shorten screenings.

    The controversial film stars Tom Hanks and is based on Dan Brown's best-selling novel. It explores the idea that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and had children whose descendants are alive today.

    In India, the government Tuesday put a temporary hold on the movie's release because of complaints, although it had been set for release in India on Friday and had already been cleared by the national censor board.

    In South Korea, a Christian group requested for an injunction to block screenings, but a court ruled Tuesday its request lacked merit.

    The Christian Council of Korea, an umbrella group of 63 South Korean Protestant denominations, said it respected the ruling but would lead a boycott of the movie because the movie they believe defiles the sanctity of Jesus Christ and distorts facts.

    In Thailand, Christian groups demanded that government censors cut out the conclusion of the movie that says Jesus still has heirs alive today. The censor board has not yet replied to the request and the movie is scheduled to start running Thursday.

    In Athens, some 200 religious protesters, waving crucifixes and Greek flags, demonstrated Tuesday in protest of the movie. 

    "All religions merit respect, so why don't they show respect in this case instead of attacking all that we hold sacred?" said Athanasios Papageorgiou, president of St. John the Theologian group in Peania, east of Athens.

    "I've read the book. It's despicable," he added. "The Muslims for one cartoon burnt anything, so what should we do?"

    Philippine censors approved an adult rating for the movie but stopped short of rating it "X" because "it does not constitute a clear, express or direct attack on the Catholic church or religion" and "does not libel or defame any person."

    The National Council of Churches in Singapore also had requested a ban of the movie while planning lectures to refute aspects of it and the book on which it is based. The censorship board gave the movie an NC16 rating, barring viewers under 16, arguing that "only a mature audience will be able to discern and differentiate between fact and fiction."  Enditem

    (Agencies)