"fahrenheit 9/11" was screened in a number of middle eastern countries, including the united arab emirates, lebanon, and egypt, but was immediately banned in kuwait. "we have a law that prohibits insulting friendly nations", said abdul-aziz bou dastour of the kuwaiti information ministry. the film was not shown in saudi arabia as public movie theaters were not permitted from 1983 until 2017. the saudi ruling elite subsequently launched an advertising campaign spanning nineteen us cities to counter criticism partly raised in the film.