Remember “The Satanic Verses“?
Came out when I was a kid (relatively). Big-to-do. Apparently had “blasphemous portrayals of the Prophet Muhammad.”
Didn’t win many awards, unless you count a fatwa to kill yourself as a form of flattery.
That was a book. Imagine the uproar that will come when they try to portray The Prophet(tm) on film??
Budgeted at around $150m (£91.5m), the film will chart Muhammad’s life and examine his teachings. Osborne told Reuters that he envisages it as “an international epic production aimed at bridging cultures. The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam”.
Osborne’s production will reportedly feature English-speaking Muslim actors. It is backed by the Qatar-based production company Alnoor Holdings, who have installed the Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi to oversee all aspects of the shoot. In accordance with Islamic law, the prophet will not actually be depicted on screen.
Yes, Islam says there shall be no portrayals, drawings, pictures, etc., of Muhammad. I can respect the idea. It’s supposed to keep the focus on the message, and not the man.
However, I always cringe when people decide that those who create an image should be killed. and never in a pleasant manner.
So, if you thought the Christians went nuts during the “Passion of the Christ” fiasco, this one’s going to be a doozy.
2 responses so far ↓
Niall // November 3, 2009 at 2:11 pm |
I’ve already seen this movie – a bio pic of Mohammed was made in the late 70s called “The Message” starring Anthony Quinn (Zorba the Muslim!). It caused an uproar in the Muslim world (even though Mohammed is never seen in the film), but no death threats that I recall. Perhaps if this latest movie is actually produced by a Muslim entity, it won’t be as controversial.
And I well remember the uproar over The Last Temptation of Christ, since I was assigned to review it for a local paper in Chicago. The entire street in front of the Biograph Theater was shut down and filled with screaming protesters. You could barely even get to the entrance of the theater, the clear area was so small. And when I left the theater, I was pelted with eggs by our good Christian friends. No one threatened to kill me, but it was certainly a very nasty scene.
Just another argument for Deism, in my book.
fastnav // November 4, 2009 at 1:41 pm |
If “The Message” caused a minor uproar in the 70s, I imagine this new movie will cause all kinds of fun events given the current popularity of trying to earn your 100 virgins…
And yes, Deism = “can’t we all just get along” in my book, and I’m down for that.