Iran bans 'Da Vinci Code'

"After receiving the letter of protest from religious Christians, the culture ministry decided to cancel the authority given for publication of this book," Mohammad Reza Vasfi, a ministry official, told the daily Etemad.

The controversial book by author Dan Brown, which has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, supports the thesis according to which Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child whose descendants are alive today -- a claim which the book says the Church has tried to smother for two millennia.