ANIMATED MUHAMMAD

You thought The Passion of the Christ was controversial.

Fine Media Group has announced the nationwide theatrical release of a feature-length animated film that chronicles the early life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

The release of Muhammad: The Last Prophet, directed by former Disney animator Richard Rich, is scheduled to coincide with Eid ul-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Islamic fast of Ramadan.

The 90-minute film, produced by the creators of animated films as The King and I and The Fox and the Hound for Badr International will be shown in theaters in 37 U.S. and Canadian cities for one week beginning November 14.

Because of Islamic traditions prohibiting the visual representation of religious figures, no images of the Prophet Muhammad appear in the film. Instead, Mohamad is represented as a bright light and an off-screen voice. (The only other major film production to chronicle the life of Prophet Muhammad was The Message, a 1976 film by Syrian director Moustapha Akkad in which the Prophet was neither portrayed nor voiced-over. The Prophet’s uncle, Hamza, however, was portrayed in the movie by Anthony Quinn.)

As part of the film’s promotional campaign, Fine Media Group is raffling off a round-trip plane ticket (New York to Jeddah) to experience Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah which is one of the five “pillars” of Islam.

In a statement released today, Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on Islamic-American Relations (CAIR) is quoted as saying, “This is an exciting opportunity for parents and children of all faiths to learn more about an historic figure like Prophet Muhammad and events that shaped today’s world. The release of this film in theaters also offers a chance to interact with American Muslims in a learning environment.”

However, according to IslamOnline, “Some [Egyptian] critics and journalists expressed their disappointment” following a screening of the $12 million film in Cairo, where it was released in 2002. (The film was also released in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.)

“The movie ignores important events such as the struggle between Muslims and Jews, leading many critics to say that it is deliberately ignored due to political considerations as the film producers wanted to avoid any political problems that may occur in case this struggle was mentioned.

“The movie is below any expectations and full of political problems, one of them is the total ignorance of the struggle of the first Muslims with the Jews and the Prophet’s battles against them in Madinah,” said Ashrah El Bayoumi, a critic.

“He added that it is impossible to talk about the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) without mentioning the struggle against the Jews, the second force after the infidels of Makkah in their animosity to the Prophet’s (pbuh) message, as well as their role in the attempt to suppress it, especially in its early phases in Madinah.

“On the other hand, Ali Mohieb, a movie director, said he sympathizes with the producers of the movie as they are exerting a remarkable effort, he said, adding that ignoring the part related to Jews may be because the producing company wanted to ‘save its money’ and guarantee that the English version of the movie will be allowed in Western markets.

“Answering these criticism, Mowafak El-Harthy, the Saudi head of the producing company Badr, said that critics should not turn the movie into a political issue.”