SYRIA: Life of Prophet Mohammed depicted in potentially controversial TV production

Record ID: 279153

  • Title: SYRIA: Life of Prophet Mohammed depicted in potentially controversial TV production
  • Date: 14th August 2008
  • Summary: (MER-1) DAMASCUS, SYRIA (AUGUST 5, 2008) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RASHID ASSAF, SYRIAN ACTOR, SAYING: "I consider that I have entered a new phase through participating in a programme that renews the call -- this call already exists in God's message which is carried through Islam -- this work renews the call to hold dialogue with the other, and this call is integral
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAF1MIKPBNLF8CZM675PG687WRE
  • Story Text: A Syrian Ramadan TV series about the life of the Prophet Mohammed features an actor impersonating the voice of one of the Prophet's Companions. It is the first production in the Arab world to do so, and could prove a potential source of controversy in the majority-Muslim Baathist state.
    His voice is not heard and his image is not displayed on screen, but the Prophet Mohammed is the leading character in a new TV series produced in Syria which is scheduled to air during the holy Islamic lunar month of Ramadan, which this year falls in September.
    The Syrian television series "Qamar Bani Hashem" (Moon of the Hashemites) depicts the life of the Prophet from his birth until his death in 632 AD. But it also features an actor impersonating the voice of one of the Prophet's companions, which could prove a potential source of controversy in the majority-Muslim Baathist state.
    A cast of 220 actors from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Sudan and the Palestinian territories worked to produce 30 episodes of the series that will air during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins in the first week of September.
    Mohammed Sheikh Najib, director of "Qamar Bani Hashem", said the series would serve to remind young Arabs and Muslims of their illustrious past.

    "Let the generations that have forgotten our past go back to our history, this is the history that we know and love and defend," Najib said at a video studio in Damascus.
    The narrator is one of the prophet Mohammed's original companions -- or "sahabah" in Arabic -- depicted only by an actor's voice. The series' producers feared this could spark controversy in the Muslim world.
    Muslim interpretations ban the depiction of an image representing God, and this is also applied to images of the prophet Mohammed, the first caliphs, Jewish and Christian prophets and saints acknowledged by the Koran, and the prophet Mohammed's companions, whom many Sunni Muslims believe to be any true Muslim believer who saw the prophet Mohammed.
    Some Muslim interpretations extend the ban to apply to voices depicting God and these figures. The programme's producers took the script to the Mufti of Syria for inspection, and the Mufti's office issued a statement approving the script and the inclusion of a voice depicting one of the prophet's companions.

    "We have read the script of the series 'Qamar Bani Hashem,' and the Mufti approved this script because it is of high religious and moral value. Therefore there is no objection to hear a voice which represents a companion of the Prophet or a caliph, and, in future, of a prophet, because we already read (these voices) out," said the director of the Mufti's office Sheikh Alaa al-Din al-Zaatari.
    Many have become more cautious in their tackling of Muslim issues after protests and riots erupted in many Muslim countries in 2006 when cartoons, one showing the Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban resembling a bomb, appeared in a Danish newspaper. At least 50 people were killed and Danish embassies attacked.
    Rashid Assaf, a Syrian actor in the series, said that a comprehensive televised story of the prophet Mohammed's life could foster dialogue between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds.

    "I consider that I have entered a new phase through participating in a programme that renews the call -- this call already exists in God's message which is carried through Islam -- this work renews the call to hold dialogue with the other, and this call is integral to the message of Islam.
    This is what I liked about the programme, because there is now a vicious attack against our religion," Assaf said.
    'Qamar Bani Hashem' was filmed in Syria, where special sets replicating Mecca's Kaaba and other famous Muslim locations were built for the production.
    The series will also be available dubbed into English, Farsi and Turkish to appeal to international audiences.
    The director says the series can counter wrong perceptions that he believes many in the west have of Islam.

    "I believe that if people in the West were to watch this programme objectively and without aggression, they would realise that one of the greatest messages in the world is the one carried by the Prophet Mohammed," Najib said.
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