BY HABIB TOUMI (GULFNEWS.COM)
Manama, TAG – A $1 billion epic movie on the life and teachings
of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is set to be produced by Doha-based Al Noor Holding.
The media company said
that the movie endorsed by Islamic scholars, including Yusuf Al Qaradawi, the
Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, would be in seven parts
and would be produced according to the highest international standards using
the most sophisticated technical and audio-visual systems.
The company on Monday said
that the team of experts has finished writing the scenario after overcoming a
series of artistic and dramatic challenges.
The approval of leading
Muslim scholars was necessary for the company to move ahead with the movie
production.
“We are aware of the fact
that this (film) is a difficult and a challenging task,” Al Noor Holding said
in September. “This is why we have consulted many famous Islamic scholars,
among them Dr Al Qaradawi, who will guide us on the Sharia aspect of the film.”
Under strict Islamic laws,
prophets cannot be depicted on screen or in print and the movie will be no
exception.
However, his companions
will appear in the movie screen, in a decision that breaks with long-held views
that their status among Muslims does not allow their depiction or embodiment on
screen either.
At the media opportunity
in Doha on Monday, Al Qaradawi said that he conducted his own research and that
he consulted with 30 senior scholars on showing the Prophet’s companions in a
movie.
“Following the studies and
the consultations, I have come to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong
with showing the companions in dramatic work,” he said.
“I used to oppose the idea
as we have formed our own cognitive image and characterization of the prophets
and companions and that we should not distort them with human images.”
“However, following long
researches and studies, I realised that we have been excessive in our approach
and that there is no text or reference in the Quran or in the Prophet’s
Tradition and Sayings that does not allow it,” he said in remarks published by
Qatari daily Al Sharq on Tuesday.
A TV drama broadcast
during Ramadan about the lives of Hassan and Hussain, the grandsons of Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH), caused stirring controversy after it showed some of his companions.
Al Azhar, the highest
Sunni institution based in Cairo, warned in a statement for all television
channels not to screen the drama, arguing that the embodiment of the Prophet’s
companions was religiously forbidden.
Lawsuits were filed
against the production company and the satellite provider for producing and
broadcasting the drama.
However, anticipating
similar reactions, Tariq Al Swaidan, a Kuwaiti Islamist scholar and head of the
consultancy team, said at the conference on Monday that recent international
studies indicated that the new generations have new ways of gathering and
obtaining information and that they no longer relied on traditional media.
The consultants have
identified 57 messages that the movie would convey to the Western audience, he
said in remarks published by the Qatari media.
“There is a need to
understand the mentality and mindset of other people,” he said.
The movie will be in
English, but it will be translated into several languages to ensure an
international outreach, a company official said.
Nihad Awad, a co-founder
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its executive director,
said that around 750 movies with negative messages about Islam or Prophet Muhammad
were produced by Hollywood in the last decade.
The movie on Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) will have a special significance in helping address the negative
impressions and impressions within Western society as a result of the negative
portrayal of Muslims and Islam, he said, quoted by Qatari daily Al Sharq.[]
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