"The relevant Azeri authorities must ban showing this film and also end sales of the book," Gadzhiaga Nuriyev, head of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, told AFP.

"Lack of respect for the feelings of believers, whether they are Muslims, Christians or representatives of other world religions, is inadmissable."

Lala Abbasova, a parliamentary deputy and member of the legislature's committee on science and education, also said: "This film should not appear on state television channels and should be listed as a banned film throughout Azerbaijani territory."

"This film should be received negatively by society because the point of view of its authors, that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene had a child, is not credible," said Rafik Aliyev, head of the state commission on religious education in the Central Asian country.

Many religious critics have claimed that Dan Brown's book -- which claims that Jesus Christ had children with Mary Magdalene and that their bloodline continues -- is blasphemous.

The film is to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesay.

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