CAIRO, October 10 (IslamOnline and News Agencies) - Some critics and journalists expressed their disappointment Tuesday, October 8, after attending the private viewing of the cartoon movie "Mohamed The Last Prophet" because the movie was selective in the issues tackled.
Criticism included that the movie talked about specific incidents of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) life ignoring other significant major events, especially the Prophet's (pbuh) struggle with the Jews, in addition to lacking the attractive style that should exist in movies made for children.
The film features Muhammad (the last prophet) (peace be upon him) visage, journey, how people started to join Islam, and the immigration to Makkah.
It also selected other events, such as the torture Muslims faced, the immigration to Ethiopia and the Prophet's (pbuh) immigration to Yathrib (Medinah). The movie also tackles the events of the battles of Badr, Uhud and Al-Khandaq that took place between Muslims and non-believers.
However, 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.
The Badr company has prepared two versions of the movie, one in Arabic and the other in English and it had received the approval of Al-Azhar before shooting the movie the scenario of which is written by Bryan Nisseen, an American writer.
The director of the film, Richard Rich, is a well-known American director who worked for Disney.
This film is one of four series. The other series feature the conquering of Makkah, and most important Muslim women, in addition to the Islamic battles.
The film also was criticized, by Ferial Kamel, director, for not successfully featuring the Arab character, especially in the way of talking and dressing.
"These mistakes in the movie happened because the movie producers mainly depend on Americans, ignoring the fact that they should have hired Arab experts, especially that we do have many of them in this area and some of them even work with Disney," said Mohamed Salah Eldin, a movie critic.
The movie is very selective in the issues it tackled, as the writer chose specific issues from the Prophet's biography, leaving out its political significance, which constitute an extra burden on the Arabic viewer, said another critic, Tarek Al-Shenawi.
Meanwhile, many of the audience approved the Egyptian censorship decision to cut the scenes where the idols that were worshiped by Arabs are mixed up with Pharaonic statutes that were not worshipped by Egyptians.
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."
posted by Steve Gallagher @ 10/5/2004 03:58:14 PM
Washington, Oct 14 - The first animated movie of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) will finally be screened in North America after being delayed by the September 11 tragedy.
"Mohammed: The Last Prophet," will premiere in theaters in 37 US and Canadian cities for one week beginning November 14 on Eid Al Fitr, a Muslim holiday marking the end of fasting in the holy month of Ramadan.
Oussama Jammal, president of the film's distributing company Fine Media Group, said it was an irony that Americans would be able to watch the US-produced movie after much of the world had already seen it.
It was completed just before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by the Al-Qaeda terror network of Osama Bin Laden.
"The film was scheduled to be released in the United States around 2002 but (was put off) because it was just after September 11 and people were not in the mood to go to the movies," Jammal added.
"Yet it is of great significance for this first animated Islamic movie ever in North America to be screened at the end of the fasting month -- fitting perfectly with the nature of the film," said the 50-year-old Lebanese-born Jammal, who emigrated to the United States in the 1980s and has since become an American citizen.
The 90-minute film that chronicles the early life and teachings of Islam's Prophet Mohammed was produced for Badr International by Richcrest animation studios, the creators of animated classics such as "The King And I" and "The Fox And The Hound."
Film director Richard Rich is a well-known American director who worked for Disney.
KH
Stung by widespread negative media stereotypes, many of America's Muslims will take to mainstream movie theaters to mark the end of their holy month of Ramadan, which begins today, with a groundbreaking, full-length animated feature called Muhammad: The Last Prophet.
The film's screening in November coincides with Eid al-Fitr, the feast that concludes Ramadan.
Distributors of the children's film are taking their cue from Christian filmmakers, although no one connected with the 90-minute cartoon expects the limited run to duplicate the half-billion dollar success of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.
"It's not about what the box office generates, but about how much interest and benefit the people can get out of it," says Oussama Jammal, whose animation production company owns the North American distribution rights to Muhammad.
Because of resistance by theater chains, which question whether there is an audience for the film, Jammal's company, Fine Media Group, has had to rent the theaters and sell tickets on its Web site: finemediagroup.com.
"For us, it is about calming down the anxiety about Islam and Muslims in this country," he says.
Central Florida Muslims also hope Muhammad will increase understanding of their faith among the larger American community. A poll released Oct. 4 by the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations found that 25 percent of Americans believe anti-Muslim stereotypes. In a separate finding, the survey reported that negative images of Muslims in media and popular culture far outweigh positive ones.
"What I'm hoping is that the film will emphasize to the larger community, both Muslims and non-Muslims, that it's important to learn about the life of Muhammad in order to truly understand what Islam is," says Muhammad Quadir, director of the Islamic Society of Central Florida's Center for Peace.
He and other Muslim community leaders around the country plan to buy blocks of tickets for Muhammad, just as supporters of recent Christian films have, and to distribute them.
"This is the first time we have a really positive movie that we can feel proud of and encourage people to see," says Areej Zufari, of the Islamic Society. "We are inviting many of our non-Muslim friends to come to see the film."
Scholars contributed
Muhammad: The Last Prophet will open in nearly 40 U.S. and Canadian cities -- including Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami -- the week of Nov. 14-18.
Directed by Disney veteran Richard Rich, who also directed The Fox and the Hound, Muhammad has relied on scholars from the University of California at Los Angeles, and Georgetown University, as well as others from Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy in Egypt, who spent nearly two years reviewing it before giving their approval.
Part of Rich's challenge was artistic. Islam prohibits visual representations of its founder. Like other live-action films and documentaries on the prophet's life, the animated film solves the problem by viewing the action from Muhammad's point of view, and by having a narrator read his words from the Qur'an. An associate of the prophet, Malik, frames the story for his young daughter Siham.
Technically, the film's animation is somewhere between straight-to-video Disney and Saturday-morning television cartoons. The color palette is mostly desert pastel and, unlike most animated portrayals of Arabs, these characters all speak English without accents.
However, certain Western cartoon conventions are preserved -- most of the good guys are clean-shaven, most of the bad guys have beards. Twice in the film, Muhammad voices respect for the biblical figures Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
For non-Muslims, especially younger ones, the tale of Muhammad's 7th-century revolt against the corrupt, idol-worshipping, slave-owning leaders of Mecca may start to drag by the end of the first hour. On the other hand, there are lots of battle scenes in the last half-hour, until Islam's monotheism triumphs. This is a world away from Disney's Aladdin, which enraged Muslims for what they saw as its portrayal of Arabs as barbarian.
Films find audience
Muhammad fits an emerging pattern for religious films. Before Christian movies became commercially viable, filmmakers such as Billy Graham's studio also had to rent theaters to show their films.
But that has changed, especially in the last year. Most recently, Therese, based on the life of the Catholic saint Therese of Lisieux, opened in 32 theaters Oct. 1, including the Regal Winter Park Village. Bishop Thomas Wenski has urged Orlando's Catholics to support the film, an effort that may have had some impact. However, although Therese earned $350,000 its first weekend, industry experts say its financial fate -- like that of Muhammad and films such as Luther -- depends on video and DVD sales.
"The whole theatrical release is a commercial for the DVD," says Jammal, the Illinois-based distributor. The apparent success of these smaller Christian films "tells me there is an interest in religious content."
Some religion-themed, animated features have succeeded at the box office. In 1998, Dreamworks' Prince of Egypt, a $60 million retelling of the story of Moses, earned more than $100 million in theaters. VeggieTales' computer-animated feature Jonah, also based on the Bible story, earned back its $25 million production and marketing cost at the box office, before going to video and DVD.
Backers of Muhammad say there are probably enough Muslims in the 37 cities where the film will open to fill the theaters. (There will be six shows at the Muvico Pointe 21 Theatres in Orlando, starting at noon Nov. 14.) But they hope non-Muslims will come as well, and say the movie's run could be extended.
"We do live in a capitalist society," says the Islamic Society's Zufari. "We're hoping that this film will show that a positive, educational movie about Muslims will sell, will make money. Because so far we've only seen Hollywood portray Muslims in a negative light."
However, it remains to be seen whether Muhammad will recoup its Saudi investors' $10 million cost, given its subject matter and its North American competition.
A week before the Islamic feature opens, Pixar's much-anticipated The Incredibles will open, and the same weekend Muhammad begins its limited release, Warner Bros.' animated Christmas film, The Polar Express, will appear on hundreds of screens.
Polar Express is being marketed as a "faith film," by the same firm that handled The Passion, with a preview DVD being sent to 50,000 churches.
Lutherans used the film Luther for religious outreach, just as Catholics are using Therese, and evangelicals used The Passion, The Gospel of John and, most recently, the contemporary feature, Woman, Thou Art Loosed, set in the inner city.
Quadir says the new film is especially important for kids, Muslim and non-Muslim, although for different reasons.
"Our children in today's day and age, as much as we try to shield them, are being bombarded by information that is totally contrary to what our beliefs are," he says.
And, for a non-Muslim child seeing Muhammad?
"A film like this should have a reasonably strong impact on that child's world view of what Islam is," he says. "I'm certainly very hopeful."
Muhammad: The Last Prophet will play at two Houston cinemas. To purchase tickets, call 800-364-2000 or visit www.finemediagroup.com. No tickets will be sold at theaters.
|
Stung by widespread negative media stereotypes, many of America's Muslims will take to mainstream movie theaters to mark the end of their holy month of Ramadan with a groundbreaking, full-length animated feature called Muhammad: The Last Prophet.
Its November screening coincides with Eid al-Fitr, the feast that concludes Ramadan.
Distributors of the children's film are taking their cue from Christian filmmakers, although no one connected with the 90-minute cartoon expects the limited run to match the half-billion-dollar success of The Passion of the Christ.
"It's not about what the box office generates but about how much interest and benefit the people can get out of it," said Oussama Jammal, whose animation production company owns the North American distribution rights to Muhammad.
Because of resistance by theater chains, which question whether there is an audience for the film, Jammal's company, Fine Media Group, has had to rent the theaters and sell tickets on its Web site: finemediagroup.com.
"For us, it is about calming down the anxiety about Islam and Muslims in this country," he said.
Many Muslims hope Muhammad will increase understanding of their faith among the larger American community. A poll released Oct. 4 by the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations found that 25 percent of Americans believe anti-Muslim stereotypes. In a separate finding, the survey reported that negative images of Muslims in media and popular culture far outweigh positive ones.
"What I'm hoping is that the film will emphasize to the larger community, both Muslims and non-Muslims, that it's important to learn about the life of Muhammad in order to truly understand what Islam is," said Muhammad Quadir, director of the Islamic Society of Central Florida's Center for Peace.
He and other Muslim leaders around the country plan to buy blocks of tickets for Muhammad, just as supporters of recent Christian films have, and to distribute them.
"This is the first time we have a really positive movie that we can feel proud of and encourage people to see," said Areej Zufari, communications and media director for the Islamic Society.
Scholarly contributions
Muhammad: The Last Prophet will open in nearly 40 U.S. and Canadian cities the week of Nov. 14-18.
Directed by Disney veteran Richard Rich, who also directed The Fox and the Hound, Muhammad has relied on scholars from the University of California at Los Angeles, and Georgetown University, as well as others from Al-Azhar Al-Sharif Islamic Research Academy in Egypt, who spent nearly two years reviewing it before giving their approval.
Part of Rich's challenge was artistic. Islam prohibits visual representations of its founder.
Like other live-action films and documentaries on the prophet's life, the animated film solves the problem by viewing the action from Muhammad's point of view, and having a narrator read his words from the Quran. An associate of the prophet, Malik, frames the story for his daughter Siham.
Technically, the film's animation is somewhere between straight-to-video Disney and Saturday-morning television cartoons. The color palette is mostly desert pastel and, unlike most animated portrayals of Arabs, these characters all speak English without accents.
However, certain Western cartoon conventions are preserved -- most of the good guys are cleanshaven, most of the bad guys have beards. Twice in the film, Muhammad voices respect for the biblical figures Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
For non-Muslims, especially younger ones, the tale of Muhammad's seventh-century revolt against the corrupt, idol-worshipping, slave-owning leaders of Mecca may start to drag by the end of the first hour. On the other hand, there are lots of battle scenes in the last half-hour, until Islam's monotheism triumphs.
This is a world away from Disney's Aladdin, which enraged Muslims for what they saw as its portrayal of Arabs as barbarian.
High hopes
Quadir said the new film is especially important for kids, Muslim and non-Muslim, although for different reasons.
"Our children in today's day and age, as much as we try to shield them, are being bombarded by information that is totally contrary to what our beliefs are," he said.
And, for a non-Muslim child seeing Muhammad?
"A film like this should have a reasonably strong impact on that child's worldview of what Islam is," he said. "I'm certainly very hopeful."
Stung by widespread negative media stereotypes, many of America's Muslims will take to mainstream movie theaters to mark the end of their holy month of Ramadan with a groundbreaking, full-length animated feature called Muhammad: The Last Prophet. The film's screening this month coincides with Eid al-Fitr, the feast that concludes Ramadan, on Nov. 14.
Distributors of the children's film are taking their cue from Christian filmmakers, although no one connected with the 90-minute cartoon expects the limited run to duplicate the half-billion-dollar success of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.
"It's not about what the box office generates but about how much interest and benefit the people can get out of it," says Oussama Jammal, whose animation production company owns the North American distribution rights to Muhammad.
Because of resistance by theater chains, which question whether there is an audience for the film, Jammal's company, Fine Media Group, has had to rent the theaters and sell tickets on its Web site: www.finemediagroup.com.
"For us, it is about calming down the anxiety about Islam and Muslims in this country," he says.
Many Muslims also hope Muhammad will increase understanding of their faith among the larger American community. A poll released Oct. 4 by the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations indicates that 25 percent of Americans believe anti-Muslim stereotypes. In a separate finding, the survey reported that negative images of Muslims in media and popular culture far outweigh positive ones.
"What I'm hoping is that the film will emphasize to the larger community, both Muslims and non-Muslims, that it's important to learn about the life of Muhammad in order to truly understand what Islam is," says Muhammad Quadir, director of the Islamic Society of Central Florida's Center for Peace.
He and other Muslim community leaders around the country plan to buy blocks of tickets for Muhammad and to distribute them, just as supporters of recent Christian films have done.
"This is the first time we have a really positive movie that we can feel proud of and encourage people to see," says Areej Zufari, of the Islamic Society. "We are inviting many of our non-Muslim friends to come to see the film."
Depictions prohibited
Muhammad: The Last Prophet will open in nearly 40 U.S. and Canadian cities during the week of Nov. 14.
Directed by Disney veteran Richard Rich, who also directed The Fox and the Hound, Muhammad has relied on scholars from the University of California at Los Angeles, and Georgetown University, as well as others from Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy in Egypt, who spent nearly two years reviewing it before giving their approval.
Part of Rich's challenge was artistic. Islam prohibits visual representations of its founder. Like other live-action films and documentaries on the prophet's life, the animated film solves the problem by viewing the action from Muhammad's point of view, and by having a narrator read his words from the Quran. An associate of the prophet, Malik, frames the story for his young daughter Siham.
Technically, the film's animation is somewhere between straight-to-video Disney and Saturday-morning television cartoons. The color palette is mostly desert pastel and, unlike most animated portrayals of Arabs, these characters all speak English without accents.
However, certain Western cartoon conventions are preserved -- most of the good guys are clean-shaven, most of the bad guys have beards. Twice in the film, Muhammad voices respect for the biblical figures Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
For non-Muslims, especially younger ones, the tale of Muhammad's seventh-century revolt against the corrupt, idol-worshipping, slave-owning leaders of Mecca may start to drag by the end of the first hour. On the other hand, there are lots of battle scenes in the last half-hour, until Islam's monotheism triumphs. This is a world away from Disney's Aladdin, which enraged Muslims for what they saw as its portrayal of Arabs as barbarians.
A new movie trend
Muhammad fits an emerging pattern for religious films. Before Christian movies became commercially viable, filmmakers such as Billy Graham's studio also had to rent theaters to show their films.
But that has changed, especially in the past year. Most recently, Therese, based on the life of the Catholic saint Therese of Lisieux, opened in 32 theaters Oct. 1. Bishop Thomas Wenski has urged Catholics in the Orlando, Fla., area to support the film, an effort that may have had some impact. However, although Therese earned $350,000 its first weekend, industry experts say its financial fate -- like that of Muhammad and films such as Luther -- depends on video and DVD sales.
"The whole theatrical release is a commercial for the DVD," says Jammal, the Illinois-based distributor. The apparent success of these smaller Christian films "tells me there is an interest in religious content."
IN THE KNOW
Where to see 'Muhammad'
The animated movie Muhammad: The Last Prophet is scheduled to be shown at two area venues beginning Nov. 14.
FunAsia, 1210 E. Beltline Road, Richardson, (972) 889-8000. Showtimes are 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Nov. 14; and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15-18. Tickets: $11.25. Purchase online at www.finemediagroup.com; tickets are not guaranteed at the door. For more information, call (800) FMG-2000.
UA Galaxy Theater, 11801 McCree Road, Dallas, (214) 343-9622. Showtimes are noon Nov. 14; 6 and 8:15 p.m. Nov. 15; and 7 p.m. Nov. 18. Tickets are $8 adults ($6 before 6 p.m.), $5.50 children.
While some Muslim kids might beg their parents to take them to see Pixar's "The Incredibles" on Eid day, some might end up being taken to another animated film, one with a different kind of hero. Beginning on Eid (widely expected to be Sunday, November 14), theaters nationwide will be showing a $10 million feature-length animated film entitled, "Muhammad: The Last Prophet", which was directed by former Disney animator Richard Rich and produced by the creators of "The Fox & The Hound". Like Moustapha Akkad's 1976 movie "The Message", this film also does not portray the Prophet Muhammad but instead focuseso on the people surrounding him. "Bringing [the Prophet's] story to life has been an enormous challenge," said Rich, "but it has given me a great appreciation for what Muhammad has accomplished for the world." While the film will be a first for American audiences, most of the Muslim world has already seen the film, with mixed reviews. "The film was scheduled to be released in the United States around 2002, but [was put off] because it was just after September 11," said Usama Jamal, president of Fine Media Group, which produced the film. The company had to rent out theaters and sell tickets on their website, as theater chains expressed doubts that a significant audience would show up. While nobody expects the film to do as well as that other recent religious film, "The Passion Of The Christ," producers expect it to do well in the DVD and video market. (It's also far less bloody, but then, what movie isn't?) "Our children in today's day and age, as much as we try to shield them, are being bombarded by information that is totally contrary to what our beliefs are," says Muhammad Quadir, director of the Islamic Society of Central Florida's Center for Peace. "What I'm hoping is that the film will emphasize to the larger community, both Muslims and non-Muslims, that it's important to learn about the life of Muhammad in order to truly understand what Islam is."
Ushering in one of the holiest days of the year, throngs of Muslims will pray in mosques Sunday, then head to theaters to see "Muhammad: The Last Prophet," the first American film released in honor of Eid al-Fitr.
Screened for accuracy by Islamic scholars, the 90-minute animated film depicts the 7th-Century struggles of the faith's founder and first followers.
The movie adheres to Islam's sacred guideline of not allowing graven images. The cartoon's hero is never shown and his words are taken from the Koran, the holy book, and read by a narrator.
Because of this attention to detail, Muslim advocacy groups have endorsed the film not only as an affirmation of faith, but also as an educational tool for non-Muslims who may not understand the Prophet Muhammad's role in founding the Islamic faith.
The three-day Eid festival, expected to start Sunday after the sighting of the crescent moon Saturday, concludes the holy month of Ramadan, which commemorates the revelation of the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad.
Directed by Disney veteran Richard Rich, known for "The Fox and the Hound," "Muhammad" follows other animated features about prophets and Biblical characters. In 1998 Dreamworks developed a $60 million film about the prophet Moses called "The Prince of Egypt."
For $10 million, Rich made "Muhammad," with the help of Saudi investors and Islamic scholars from the University of California at Los Angeles, Georgetown University and Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy in Egypt who scrutinized every word of the script and image on screen.
"We're encouraging people to invite friends of other faiths so they can appreciate what their Muslim friends and neighbors believe and think," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman of the Council of American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C.
"It's also accessible for people of other faiths to get an idea of what kind of person Prophet Muhammad was."
But getting the film into theaters has been a challenge. Doubtful that it would draw enough crowds to make money, theater chains and some art houses refused to book the movie.
Instead, taking a cue from "The Passion of the Christ," Mel Gibson's blockbuster about the life of Jesus, the animation production company that bought the film's North American rights rented space in more than 100 theaters in 40 cities nationwide, six in the Chicago area.
"I'm not Mel Gibson," said Oussama Jammal, president and CEO of Fine Media Group, the movie's Bridgeview-based distributor. "The passion within the people is there. Once you get the word out, they will come."
Indeed, of the 500,000 Muslims in the Chicago area, thousands have already bought tickets to sold-out shows at Marcus Cinemas at 62nd Street and Western Avenue, and in Addison and Orland Park. Theaters at the Copernicus Center and The Beverly Arts Center in Chicago and Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills have screenings next week.
Jammal said he wants the film to comfort Muslims who have been victims of negative stereotyping since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"Certainly it's spiritually uplifting for Muslim Americans to see a movie about their religion that hopefully will shed some light about Islam and Muslims and help then to ease the backlash," he said. "Our objective is to...help the community feel a little bit better."
"Muhammad: The Last Prophet" joins a series of recent religious movies that portray the hardships of prophets or messengers of God and those who believe in them.
In addition to "The Passion of the Christ," which inspired evangelical Christian support, the movie "Therese," based on the life of Catholic saint Therese of Lisieux, was shown in theaters last month.
But George Aichele, a professor at Adrian College in Adrian, Mich., who studies the impact of portraying Biblical stories in films, warned that removing religious material from a sacred setting could oversimplify or secularize the subject.
Animation runs the risk of "Disneyfying" it, he said.
"It's like turning Kafka into Winnie the Pooh."
Scholars who reviewed "Muhammad: The Last Prophet" are certain the movie is faithful to the Koran, true to the teachings of the Prophet and an authentic portrayal of his life.
Khaled Abou el Fadl, an Islamic law professor at the University of California in Los Angeles, who helped edit the script and advised during the production process, said the movie will reinforce why Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad occupies a place beside Moses and Jesus.
"It will remind you what the life of the Prophet was all about," he said. "Why is it that so many people believed in Islam as a religion and continue to do so?"
Muneer Aliuddin, who saw a sneak preview of the movie at the Museum of Science and Industry last month, agreed. "Muhammad: The Last Prophet" is a work of art that faithful Muslims can celebrate, she said. The animation makes it even more magical, she said.
"A child can walk away with an understanding of where we came from and also understanding that this religion is beautiful and very peaceful," said Aliuddin, 24, of Des Plaines. "It was a very special time during the Prophet's time. It gives them a glimpse into the beauty of it all."
Ramadan, the Islamic holy month in which Muslims fast and increase charitable giving, comes to an end this weekend. But focus on the Muslim religion will continue for at least another week in the United States, with the release Sunday of an animated film on the life of the prophet Muhammad.
"Muhammad: The Last Prophet," a colorful cartoon depicting Muhammad's life in the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, will appear on about 100 movie screens across the country.
The film is the talk of Muslim communities nationwide. It also has been advertised at Islamic community centers as Eid al-Fitr, a festival marking the end of Ramadan, approaches this weekend.
"Overseas, people watch a lot of stuff about the prophet. Here, this is the first thing in America in a theater, so people are very excited about it," said Yousef Abdallah, who is helping sell tickets through the North Hudson Islamic Center in Union City. "People really want their kids to go watch it."
Many Musilms hope the cartoon -- showing in North Brunswick, Jersey City, Princeton, Morganville, Mays Landing, Burlington, and Vineland -- will attract children of all faiths.
"This is an attempt to mainstream Islam in the United States, so there's a hope the audience will not be only Muslim," said Amaney Jamal, political science professor at Princeton University, who is a Muslim. "Since popular culture for such a long time, in the opinion of Muslims, misrepresented or disadvantaged Muslims, this is one way to rectify their images."
Since 9/11, many Muslims have felt a burden to explain Islam to other Americans, said Sayid Syed of West Windsor, a Muslim from India who plans to take his 5th-grade son to the movie.
"This is a great way for Muslims as well as non-Muslims to understand the message of Islam, and sort of detach it from current events," he said.
Advertising of the film has been limited, however. Chicago-based Fine Media Group, the film's distribution company, could not find theaters to show it regularly. Instead, Fine Midea had to spend several hundred thousand dollars to rent approximately 100 theaters across the county.
"I was hoping I'd be able to reach the American people," said Oussama Jammal, president of the Fine Media Group. "But because this movie is not booked by the theaters, . . . our marketing for the non-Muslims is limited."
Perhaps taking a cue from Mel Gibson, whose blockbuster movie "The Passion of the Christ" was marketed through churches, Fine Media Group is involving mosques, Islamic centers and the Internet to sell tickets.
The North Hudson Islamic Center has sold more than 400 tickets so far, and the Islamic Society of Central Jersey in South Brunswick has sold 250 tickets at its school.
Because of Islamic law and traditions against portraying images of the prophet Muhammad, he never appears or speaks in the film. Instead, the prophet's words and thoughts are conveyed by a narrator, as well as his supporters and enemies as Muhammad defeats his foes and Islam grows.
While telling Muhammad's story, characters in the film state the traditional Muslim phrase "peace and blessing be upon him" after mentioning Muhammad's name. The movies also depicts several scenes familiar to Muslims and those knowledgeable of Islamic traditions.
Many Muslims are intrigued by the idea of cartoon figures portraying the 1,400-year-old story of their faith.
"We're curious to see how it's going to be depicted and how much of the story they're going to tell," said Abir Catovic, vice principal of Noor Al-Iman School of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey, who is taking her four children to see it. "From some pictures we saw in the advertising, we're trying to guess who the characters are."
Still, Abdallah said he worries the decision to limit marketing effectively wasted an opportunity to teach people about Islam.
"They should have spent a little more money on advertising and given the public the opportunity to watch. This way they just limit it to the Muslim communities. We live in a diverse community. We have to let others know about this."
Jammal, the Fine Media Group president, said that spending as much as he did already was a "big risk" for his small company. The movie initially was scheduled to open in the United States in 2001, but it was delayed because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Since then, the film has been shown only in Turkey, Jordan and Egypt, he said.
Endorsed by both major branches of Islam -- Sunni and Shiite -- the film was produced by Richard Rich ("The Fox and the Hound," "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too") for Badr International, the Saudi Arabia-based entertainment company.
Jammal said he hopes that after next week's showing, American theater companies will decide to show it, "convinced that this is a good movie, that there's a large audience."
Jeff Diamant covers religion.
"Muhammad: The Last Prophet" will run at the following theaters from Sunday, Nov. 14, through Thursday, Nov. 18. Check with finemediagroup.com for movie times:
Regal Burlington Stadium 20, at 250 Bromley Boulevard, Burlington, NJ 08016.
Regal Hudal Mall 7, Route 440, Jersey City, NJ 07304 (for tickets call the North Hudson Islamic Center, 201-330-0066).
Regal Hamilton Commons 14, 4215 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing, NJ 08330.
Regal Marlboro Cinema Stadium 8, 12 Route 9 North, Morganville, NJ 07751.
Regal Commerce Center Stadium 18, 2399 Route 1 South, North Brunswick, NJ 08902.
United Artists Movies at Market Fair, 3521 US Route 1, Princeton, NJ 08540.
Cumberland Mall Stadium 14, 3849 South Delsea, Vineland, NJ 08360
The first animated movie about the Prophet Muhammad comes to the Broadway Centre Cinemas today for a three-day engagement to coincide with Eid Al Fitr, the feast day that marks the end of Ramadan.
Members of Utah's Muslim community will introduce the film and answer questions after each screening.
Show times are today at noon, 2:15, 4:30 and 6:15 p.m., and Monday and Tuesday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 each, or buy 2 and get one free, and may be purchased in advance by calling 524-8238. They are also on sale at the Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. 300 South.
The SLC Film Center, Iqra Academy of Utah, The Council on Arab American Relations and the Salt Lake Film Society have joined together to bring the film to Salt Lake City to help children learn more about Islam and to help families of different faiths get to know each other.
The film's director is Richard Rich, a former Utahn, whose other films include the animated "King and I" and the "Swan Princess" film series; he also co-directed Disney's "The Black Cauldron" and "The Fox and the Hound."
"Muhammad: The Last Prophet" will play in 37 Canadian and U.S. cities beginning today.
The SLC FILM CENTER, Iqra Academy of Utah, The Council on Arab American Relations and the Salt Lake Film Society are pleased to present Muhammed: The Last Prophet, the first animated movie of Prophet Mohammed. This special screening will be at the Broadway Centre Cinemas November 14th-16th only. Tickets can be bought ahead of time by calling the Library store at 524-8238. Showtime's are Sunday, November 14th at 12 noon, 2:15, 4:30 pm and 6:15, Monday, November 15th at 7pm and Tuesday, November 16th at 7pm. For additional information call Maysa Kergaye of the Iqra Academy at 801-694-7788. Tickets are $10 or buy 2 and get one free. They can also be purchased at the Broadway Film Centre the beginning Sunday November 14th.
The Council on American Islamic Relations, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, recommends the movie as an excellent opportunity for parents and children of all faiths "to learn more about an historic figure like Prophet Mohammed and events that shaped today's world". Director Richard Rich, the man who made the animated version of The King and I and Disney's The Fox and the Hound, made this children's film with RichCrest Animation Studios and planned to release it three years ago. After September 11th, they lost their distribution deal. John Voll, an advisor to the film and director of Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, thinks the film "is especially relevant in the current time when so much of the media presentations of Muslims and Muslim life is so negative."
Mohammed: The Last Prophet, will premiere in theatres in 37 US and Canadian cities for one week beginning Sunday, November 14 on Eid Al Fitr, a Muslim holiday marking the end of fasting in the holy month of Ramadan. We think this is a wonderful way to bring families of all faiths to come together to understand the life of Prophet Muhammad and at the same time acknowledge the end of Ramadam, a Muslim holy month of prayer and fasting. Leaders in our Salt Lake City Muslim Community will be introducing the film and answering questions after each screening. Special thanks to Lynne and Diana Dougan for underwriting our ISLAM AND THE WESTERN WORLD film series, this is the first film we are presenting that will be for children and families.
Special Note: Perhaps the most intriguing fact about MUHAMMAD: THE LAST PROPHET for western audiences is that viewers never actually see the Prophet Muhammad. Islamic tradition forbids any visual representation of Muhammad
The Director, Richard Rich
After fourteen years of experience at Disney, which included directing the animated classic "THE FOX AND THE HOUND" Richard went on to form Rich Animation Studios. Since that time he has directed dozens of high-quality animated tales like "THE ANIMATED HERO CLASSICS" (in conjunction with Time-Warner) which were featured on HBO. He enjoys bringing drama and laughter to the screen accompanied with a message that tugs at the heart and changes lives. He has directed more than seventy short form stories and six feature length movies, including the popular "SWAN PRINCESS" series and E.B. White's "THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN" which will be distributed by Tristar for the Spring of 2001. Directing "Muhammad, the Last Prophet" has been an incredible journey for the veteran filmmaker. Of the experience, he states, "Bringing his story to life has been an enormous challenge but it has given me a great appreciation for what Muhammad has accomplished for the world."
The Making of the Film
Muhammad (pbuh) the Last Prophet was in production for two years and includes more than 196,000 drawings. It was created as a traditional two-dimensional film, but the computer has played a huge role in its creation. Each "cell" is computer painted and fantastic computer effects can be found throughout the production.
All the designing for the film took place at RichCrest Animation in Burbank, California. Under the watchful eye and careful hand of the film's executive producer, a devout Muslim, characters and backgrounds were created to bring ancient Mecca and its people to life.
Bringing the vivid characters of Islam's history to life required an exhaustive search among professional theatre, television, and film actors. Once they were selected, director Richard Rich took them through a series of recording sessions, making sure that each performance was distinct and precise. Early on in the casting it became clear that the voice of Abu Talib would be crucial. Though not an adherent to Islam, Abu Talib was a loving uncle to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). His was the responsibility to support his nephew but also to lead, placate, and sometimes stand up to his peers of Quarysh. The voice needed strength, majesty, but also kindness and a gentle quality. It was found in Eli Allem, a veteran actor of stage and screen. With each recording session it became clear that Eli was creating a unique and powerful performance. Finally, his job was done. On the day after his final recording session, he passed away.
Muhammad the Last Prophet is a pioneering film in many ways. It brings the life of God's Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to millions in a new and exciting way. It will also be the first movie in cinematic history that will be finished in high definition video, then transferred to film. It is the hope of all those who have worked on the film that this retelling of the story of Muhammad (pbuh) will bring a new peace and understanding to our world.
Thousands of Chicago-area Muslim families rang in the Eid al-Fitr holiday that follows the fasting month of Ramadan with the first-ever American-made Muslim film that recounts the story of Islam's earliest days.
"Muhammad, The Last Prophet" opened in more than 90 North American theaters, five around Chicago, including Bridgeview, Palos Hills and Beverly.
With the sighting of the crescent moon in Saturday's night sky, a month of fasting came to an end Sunday, ushering in the four-day Eid al-Fitr or "feast of fast breaking" holiday.
Eid al-Fitr, one of two major Muslim holidays, is characterized by eating and socializing with loved ones.
So the family-friendly film was intentionally released on the first day of Eid, said its distributor, Oussama Jammal, of Bridgeview's Fine Media Group.
Jammal, who also sits on the board of the Mosque Foundation, advertised in religious schools, at community centers and on cable stations popular with Muslims. Since theaters would not pick up the film, Jammal had to rent auditoriums and sell tickets, $15 each, through Fine's web site.
Jammal wanted to send a message to studios and theaters alike that American Muslims were a faithful, lucrative audience that enjoyed religious stories. But he said he did not do it for the money.
Rather, it was "the joy on the face of Muslim-Americans who never had a movie on their holidays."
And families came out in droves. An estimated 5,000 viewers packed the Chicago theaters Sunday. Families and extended families arrived at the film's premiere in Orland Park, dressed to the nines.
Little ones sat nestled in laps through the 90-minute film that featured a few songs, including one said to have been sung to Muhammad himself as he entered the city of Medina.
Although the film was about God's revelation to Islam's last and greatest prophet, Muhammad never appeared onscreen. Islam forbids graven images.
Animators danced around the rule with a narrator quoting Muhammad from the Quran, and by depicting the prophet's point of view with the camera. As Muhammad climbed a hill or bowed his head in prayer, the screen moved with him.
"It was nice to see how you were in his place," said Chicago Ridge teen Doah Abusara, a student at the Universal School in Bridgeview. She watched the film with her parents and two sisters. "The show was really accurate from what I learned," she said.
In fact, the film was screened before Islamic scholars at the Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy to ensure historical and religious accuracy, and included such Muslim practices as uttering "Peace and Blessings Upon Him" after the name of Muhammad.
Animated Mecca was vibrant and full of boxy homes with ornate doors and lintels typical of the Arabian peninsula. New Muslims, dressed all in white, seemed to glow as they fought infidels in battle scenes drawn blurrily to shield young children from violence.
Directed by Richard Rich of Disney's "The Fox and the Hound," and written by Brian Nissen, "The Last Prophet" was made in Hollywood for about $10 million.
Jabber said the movie was completed in 2000, but held over in the United States after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
But "The Last Prophet" was meant to educate particularly Muslim children about the Prophet's charity, patience and tolerance for people of all races and beliefs, Jabber said.
For non-Muslims, there was also much to learn about Islam and how it mirrors Christianity in many ways, sharing the same God and similar prophets -- and persecution in its early years, not unlike what happened to the first Christians.
After the film, the Ouri family scrambled to take a photo in front of a cardboard cutout of the film's main characters. said Fedai Ouri, an Oak Lawn mother of four.
"It's the same thing we teach our children," she said "so they know how to be like the prophet."
Despite Islam's rocky beginning, replete with battles and persecution, the movie was suitable for children, too. "They didn't show any blood," she said.
Her eldest daughter, 10-year-old Abrar, liked the happy ending, when all Mecca's rulers convert to Islam.
"Even the bad guys," the Columbus Manor School student said.
Along with extended family members, who flew in from Detroit for the film and Eid festivities, Ouri said her children ran into friends from school at the Sunday afternoons screening. She was glad the film was already so popular.
"It's the first Arab movie in the cinema," she said.
"On the third floor?" asks a woman in stonewashed jeans with an off-white hajib on her head, holding her daughter's arm. She's standing on the first floor of Ballston Common Mall in Arlington, in view of a towering Christmas tree.
"Yes, in Theater 12," answers a man in a fitted gray suit, pointing to the escalator.
They nod.
Up they go. Past the Tropik Sun, the Radio Shack, the T-Mobile kiosk, families rush to their seats in the Regal theater, bags of popcorn and sodas in hand. It's Eid al-Fitr (pronounced EED-al-FITTER) -- the Festival of Fast-Breaking, marking the end of the month-long Ramadan -- and, for the first time, a very exciting time, a very important time, there's a film to help celebrate it.
"Muhammad: The Last Prophet" -- a lush, solemn, 90-minute animated film directed by Disney veteran Richard Rich ("The Fox and the Hound" and "The Black Cauldron") -- made its U.S. debut yesterday, showing in about 40 cities in 86 theaters nationwide, four of them in Northern Virginia. The English-language film has been released in a handful of countries, including Lebanon, Jordan, Malaysia and Turkey, with subtitles. But 9/11 came, and the $10 million film -- produced by Badr International and financed by Saudi investors -- was shelved in the United States.
Then Fine Media Group, a small, independent film distributor in Chicago, picked it up.
Oussama Jammal, the distributing company's owner and a Muslim, has spent nearly $1 million, renting relatively small theaters and placing ads on Arab satellite TV. Loews and AMC, two of the biggest theater chains in the country, opted to not show it, to Jammal's dismay. But he wanted to get the film out at any cost.
"There was 9/11, then the war in Afghanistan, then the war in Iraq," says Jammal, 50, a father of four, born and raised in Lebanon, who immigrated to Salt Lake City in 1982. "Too much has happened, and it didn't give Americans the chance to be able to differentiate between the good and the bad and the ugly. What is Islam to non-Muslims?"
The film is not a big Hollywood production, he says, certainly nothing like "The Passion of the Christ." Still, word of mouth among the estimated 150,000 Muslims, Arab and non-Arab, in the Washington area, paying $12 a ticket, is expected to fill theaters until Thursday, when the run ends. For the past week, volunteers like Yahya Fouz, a 23-year-old law student, and 24-year-old Sajjad Ahmad, a software tester, have been helping sell tickets; their cell phone numbers are posted on Fine Media Group's Web site.
"Islam has been hijacked by the media, hijacked by Osama bin Laden," says Fouz, out of breath as he stops by Ballston Common on his way to the Washington Convention Center, where thousands of Muslims were gathering for Eid-al-Fitr. He's selling tickets there. Out of 50 tickets mailed to him last week by Jammal, about 20 are left. "Muhammad, you have to understand, is part of the Abrahamian tradition of prophets. Of Moses and Jesus. Unfortunately, not many people know that."
"Muhammad: The Last Prophet" traces the rise of Islam in 7th century Mecca, when the now-holy place was a corrupt city of slave owners and wooden and stone gods. The message is sacrosanct, the god is Allah. Since Islamic law prohibits any images of the prophet (or his close relatives) to be seen, the action is shown, as needed, from Muhammad's point of view -- you don't see him, you see what he sees -- and follows him through his preaching, his words directly out of the Koran.
The audience meets the prophet about 10 minutes into the film, climbing toward a cave outside Mecca, alone, to pray. It is there, at the age of 40, where Muhammad receives a vision from the archangel Gabriel.
In that scene, the film's most visually stunning, Gabriel is depicted by a glowing sphere.
"What I think is very unique about it is you have a film dealing with Muhammad that seeks to tell the development of Islam in a medium -- an animated film -- that can widely be seen. Especially by children, Muslim or non-Muslim," says John Esposito, professor of Islamic studies at Georgetown University and editor in chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. He is the author of more than 40 books on Islam, and got involved in the film in 1998, as one of four Islamic scholars. He was asked to review it for authenticity.
Though Islam -- with 6 million to 8 million followers in the United States, Esposito estimates -- is the country's third largest religion behind Christianity and Judaism, "it's still . . . the least understood of the three religions."
The D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations released a poll of more than 1,000 respondents Oct. 4 showing that one in four Americans holds anti-Muslim views such as "Muslims teach their children to hate" and "Muslims value life less than other people."
Those are familiar stereotypes to Sally Abdelhafiz, 34, a Reston human resources worker.
She brought her family -- husband Taha, daughters Nadine, 9, and May, 5 -- to the noon showing at Ballston Common after hearing about the movie on ART, the Arab satellite channel. She liked what she saw, especially a scene halfway through the film.
Muhammad's followers have left Mecca, and a Christian king in Abyssinia offers them asylum. In an exchange, the Muslims try to explain how their beliefs are not far from Christianity.
The king stands, looks up at the ceiling, throws his hands high, and says:
"What we believe and what you believe are like these two beams of light -- separate yet coming from the same source."
"That message, simple as it sounds, needs to be understood by everyone," says Abdelhafiz. "It is the same source. You call your god, God. We call our god, Allah."
She pauses. "What's so different about that?"
PHOTO CAPTION:
Yahya Fouz, left, and his sister Maha Fouz sell tickets to "Muhammad: The Last Prophet." The film debuted on Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, in 86 theaters nationwide, including four in Northern Virginia. (Jonathan Ernst For The Washington Post)
NEW YORK Nov 17, 2004 -- Forget about dancing genies, buxom harem girls and dashing heroes in mythical Arab lands bent on saving ravishing princesses. In this animated movie, the issue is one of divine love, devotion and a struggle for God.
But "Muhammad: The Last Prophet" is more than a 90-minute animated feature chronicling the life of Islam's founding prophet, say its producers and distributors. It's about a struggle that began 1,400 years ago and is still being waged in places as glitzy as Hollywood and as gritty as Fallujah.
"In a volatile political climate such as today's, there is a lot of interest in learning about Islam and Muslims and the legacy of the prophet," said Oussama Jammal, chief executive of Joliet, Ill.-based Fine Media Group, the movie's North American distributors. "There's also a need to try to explain the religion and the prophet in a historically accurate way. Hopefully, this movie can help."
Jammal carefully timed the film's U.S. debut to coincide with Eid al-Fitr, a celebration marking the end of Ramadan. It was the ideal time to release a movie "that will hopefully help Muslims celebrate their history," he said.
But making a movie about Islam's prophet even in the most tranquil of times is a difficult undertaking. Islam bans depicting Muhammad or his closest followers and the film's producers were careful to not show his face.
Many of the scenes were shot to allow viewers to see the images through his eyes, and such care earned the film the thumbs-up from the clerics at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, the foremost theological institute in the Sunni Muslim world.
To enhance its mass appeal, Badr International, the British Virgin Islands company that produced the $10 million film, also enlisted American director Richard Rich, whose animated films include 1981's "The Fox and the Hound" and 1999's "The King and I."
The movie begins with a couple and their young daughter meeting a destitute old man whom they bring home in the spirit of charity advocated by Islam. At their home, they begin to tell the story of Muhammad, starting with the first revelations on Mount Hira when the Angel Gabriel is said to have appeared to the then 40-year-old prophet and said: "Read."
Muhammad, who tradition says was illiterate, responds: "I cannot read."
"Read, in the name of your Lord who created/Created man from a clot (of blood)... He who taught by the pen/Taught man that which he knew not," says Gabriel, as quoted in one of chapters of the Quran, the Muslim holy book.
The story unfolds with Muhammad, a merchant in Mecca, first doubting the revelations, but quickly finding support and encouragement from his wife, Khadija the first to convert.
At the time, Mecca was a pagan center, and the new faith challenged the authority of the city's rulers. But Muhammad's message that there is but one omnipotent God that of Abraham, Moses and Jesus under whom all are equal, increasingly won favor among common people.
With Muhammad winning over more followers, the ridicule with which he was initially greeted gives way to persecution laying the foundation for his flight to neighboring Medina and the battles that would secure Islam's hold on the Arabian peninsula.
The film makes a point of showing the respect with which Muhammad held other monotheistic faiths. Twice there are references to Islam's God also being the God of Jews and Christians.
It's a message of tolerance that viewers who recently attended a screening said is painfully absent today, both on the part of extremist Muslims and many in the West.
"This movie is important to bring out the message of peace that Islam teaches," said Firaz Shaikh, a 51-year-old native of India who lives in suburban New York with his wife and two children.
"It's a great way for the children to learn about the religion in a constructive way and to truly understand its spirit and the prophet's message," said Shaikh, who saw the movie with his family.
The movie debuted Sunday for a four-day run in 37 North American cities. Now Jammal hopes for a second release in the United States, and has his sights set on Europe.
The movie has already appeared in the Middle East, where one scene was cut by Egyptian censors. They argued that the images of Muslims destroying pharaonic-looking idols in Mecca could spark a backlash against Egypt's rich archaeological heritage.
Some Arab critics also argued that certain events were omitted likely to make it more palatable for Western markets.
It was learning, not politics, that drew moviegoers here.
William James, a Muslim convert who brought along Quentin Young, his 4-year-old Christian grandson, said: "I picked up a few things I didn't know before, and Quentin here learned a couple of words of Arabic."
But others expressed doubt that the film would do much to shatter stereotypes.
"The people here are ignorant. They just see (Osama) bin Laden, and to them, that's what Muslims are," said Marie Edwards, referring to the Al-Qaida leader who masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks.
Her husband, David Edwards, however, was more optimistic.
"Islam is terribly misunderstood... Personally, I think it's a good religion," he said. "And I'm an atheist."
CAPTION:
This picture released by Fine Media Group is a scene from the animated film "Muhammad, The Last Prophet." The film was timed to premiere on Eid al Fitr, a celebration marking the end of the Muslims' daylight fasting month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Fine Media Group)
A few years ago, the Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, gave its stamp of approval to an animated film on the life of Muhammad, Islam's founder. The academy's council approved it Aug. 20, 2001.
A few weeks later, the Al Qaeda terrorist network attacked New York and Washington, D.C., and the film's release was pushed back -- way back.
"Muhammad: The Last Prophet" just premiered in U.S. theaters Nov. 14, the last day of Ramadan and the feast of Eid Al Fitr.
The 90-minute film is set roughly 1,400 years ago, when Islam was birthed. It's based on the tradition surrounding Muhammad and his struggle in 7th-century Arabia to restore worship of the one true God.
"Muhammad" is showing in roughly 100 theaters across 35 U.S. cities. It screened in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries in late 2002.
"This movie aims to introduce the story of Islam and its Prophet to new generations in the appealing and accessible medium of animation," according to the Fine Media Group, the film's Bridgeview, Ill.-based distributor. "Though the Prophet is not personified, sound and cinematography are employed in the telling of his story, and the film is capped off with a stunning soundtrack by composer William Kidd."
Islam prohibits images of Muhammad, so the film shows events through Muhammad's eyes. It also has a narrator, who quotes some of Muhammad's sayings.
The script for the film was subject to heavy scrutiny, with Islamic experts at the University of California at Los Angeles and Georgetown University going over it continuously. The Al-Azhar council also approved the script prior to its production, as well as the final version of the film.
Ironically, the events that delayed the film's U.S. release are also what make the film needed now, according to scholars.
"The movie is especially relevant in the current time when so much of the media presentations of Muslims and Muslim life is so negative," said John Voll, director of Georgetown's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, in an Aljazeera.
"Muhammad" was directed by Richard Rich, who also directed "The Fox and the Hound" and "The Swan Princess" for Disney. He now heads up Burbank, Calif.-based RichCrest Animation Studios, which Badr International hired to make the film.
Badr is a British Virgin Islands Corporation centered around Islamic-themed entertainment. It spent $10 million and two years to make "Muhammad," which was finished on high-definition video for transfer to film.
"Technically, the film's animation is somewhere between straight-to-video Disney and Saturday-morning television cartoons," wrote Mark Pinsky in an Orlando Sentinel article. "The color palette is mostly desert pastel and, unlike most animated portrayals of Arabs, these characters all speak English without accents."
Fine Media Group picked a tough weekend to roll out "Muhammad," with "The Incredibles" still going strong (making $50 million) and "The Polar Express" being released (making $23 million). In fact, theater chains were reluctant to book the film for fear of no audience. This fact forced FMG actually to rent theaters and then sell tickets to the movie through its Web site.
Much like the strategy for "The Passion of the Christ," Islamic leaders are urging Muslims to buy tickets for friends and neighbors. One such leader is Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"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," said Awad in a press release. "The release of this film in theaters also offers a chance to interact with American Muslims in a learning environment."
The release also noted, "Recent CAIR research has shown that anti-Muslim prejudice decreases when people have access to accurate information about Islam and relate to ordinary Muslims."
NEW YORK - An animated film on the life of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), which is designed to improve the interaction of Muslims in US society, is drawing full houses across the country.
The movie, Mohammed: The Last Prophet, began screenings on Eid-ul-Fitre.
According to the film's distributors, the idea behind the movie is to educate and entertain both Muslims and non-Muslims about Islam and its history.
"It's not about what the box office generates, but about how much interest and benefit the people can get out of it," says Usama Jamal of Fine Media Group, the film's distributors.
He says the film was scheduled to be released in the United States around 2002 but was put off because of the 11 September attacks that led to the targeting of Muslims in the United States.
"People were not in the mood to go to the movies," says Jamal, a 50-year-old Lebanese man who emigrated to the United States in the 1980s and has since become an American citizen. Muslims leaders are quite hopeful that this will give an opportunity for more interaction between Muslims and other Americans.
Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says: "This is an exciting opportunity for parents and children of all faiths to learn more about an historic figure like Prophet Mohammed and events that shaped today's world.
"The release of this film in theatres also offers a chance to interact with American Muslims in a learning environment."
Some theatre chains were doubtful of the response to the film and refused to screen the movie, which forced distributors to rent the theatres and sell tickets on their own.
The 90-minute film will run for a week in nearly 40 US and Canadian cities, including Toronto, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
The film, which chronicles the early life and teachings of Prophet Mohammed, has been produced for Badr International by RichCrest Animation Studios, the creators of animated classics such as The King and I and The Fox and the Hound.
Directed by Richard Rich, who also directed The Fox and the Hound, the film had to be authenticated by scholars from the University of California at Los Angeles, Georgetown University and the Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy in Egypt.
Since visual representation of religious figures is prohibited in Islam, the animated film has a narrator reading words from the holy Quran.
The movie hopes to follow the success of similar features such as The Prince of Egypt, the story of Moses, which earned more than $100m in theatres in 1998.
The New York Times art critic said that for thousands of Muslims who flocked to theaters, the American premiere of the animated feature was "unquestionably a landmark cultural event".
"I've been waiting for this since I was 14," Lebarron Edwards, 27, was quoted as saying as he hurried into a theater with his wife and four children. "Every other prophet has a movie. As a Muslim, you feel left out."
"Everywhere it's full, it's packed," Jamal, the film's United States distributor. "It is just unbelievable. Phone calls every single minute, people still looking for tickets."
The movie, which recounts the story of the birth of Islam, began as the dream of a Saudi real estate investor, Muwaffak Alharithy, who said he felt that his children and other Muslim youth had been shortchanged by religious film offerings of Hollywood and decided to remedy the situation himself.
"What we found out in making the film is how little anybody knows about that religion and (prophet) Muhammad," Director Rich said in an interview with The Times. "Here we thought that this film would at least open doors for that to happen, and then 9/11 seemed to close those doors for a while."
Rich said he was in the process of dubbing the film on Sept. 11, 2001. Fearing a backlash, Alharithy decided to wait before searching for a distributor in the United States. But he went ahead and released the movie, dubbed in Arabic and six other languages, in theaters in Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and other countries.
It picked up several big-name distributors, including Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International, and performed as well as "The Lion King" in Lebanon, Alharithy said.
But when he finally searched for a distributor in the United States in 2003, he found no interest. The same thing happened in England, he said. Eventually, Alharithy approached Icon Productions, which produced Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ."
"I thought they might be bold enough," he told The Times from his home in Jeddah. "I never got an answer from them."
"Muhammad: The Last Prophet," a strenuously respectful animated rendering of the prophet's life, has little in common with both the controversial violence and explosive box office success of "The Passion," but both films depended on faith-based marketing efforts, according to The Times.
Trailers of the film were shown in schools in Dearborn, Michigan, which has a large Muslim population. Fliers and posters of the film were sent to thousands of mosques, including the Masjid At-Taqwa in Brooklyn, which bought blocks of tickets to screenings in New York.
After hearing reports of sold-out screenings Tuesday, Jamal said he was already considering a re-run in some cities.
In New York City, women in hijabs and men in long, flowing robes hustled into theaters in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan throughout the day, pulling along their children.
Both local and national Muslim leaders said they hoped non-Muslims would see the film. Debbie Almontaser, a Brooklyn activist who teaches cultural tolerance in New York City schools and for the organization Women in Islam, said the fact that so many American theaters opened their doors was a good sign.
Dr. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, said, "Islam is a part of America right now and America is increasingly becoming a part of the Arab and Muslim world."
He added:" This is what globalization is about. It's not a one-way sell. It's a two-way sell." Alharithy said he hoped that the same curiosity Americans expressed about Islam in the weeks after Sept. 11 would lead them , three years later, to watch the film.
"The movie is such a bridge maker and it shows that this faith is a continuation of other faiths," Alharithy said. "And it surprises some people. They say, 'Oh this is Islam?' Yeah it's nothing drastic."
NEW YORK -- Forget about dancing genies, buxom harem girls and dashing heroes in mythical Arab lands bent on saving ravishing princesses. In this animated movie, the issue is one of divine love, devotion and a struggle for God.
But "Muhammad: The Last Prophet" is more than a 90-minute animated feature chronicling the life of Islam's founding prophet, say its producers and distributors. It's about a struggle that began 1,400 years ago and is still being waged in places as glitzy as Hollywood and as gritty as Fallujah.
"In a volatile political climate such as today's, there is a lot of interest in learning about Islam and Muslims and the legacy of the prophet," said Oussama Jammal, chief executive of Joliet, Ill.-based Fine Media Group, the movie's North American distributors. "There's also a need to try to explain the religion and the prophet in a historically accurate way. Hopefully, this movie can help."
Jammal carefully timed the film's U.S. debut to coincide with Eid al-Fitr, a celebration marking the end of Ramadan. It was the ideal time to release a movie "that will hopefully help Muslims celebrate their history," he said.
But making a movie about Islam's prophet -- even in the most tranquil of times -- is a difficult undertaking. Islam bans depicting Muhammad or his closest followers, and the film's producers were careful to not show his face.
Many of the scenes were shot to allow viewers to see the images through his eyes, and such care earned the film the thumbs-up from the clerics at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, the foremost theological institute in the Sunni Muslim world.
To enhance its mass appeal, Badr International, the British Virgin Islands company that produced the $10 million film, also enlisted American director Richard Rich, whose animated films include 1981's "The Fox and the Hound" and 1999's "The King and I."
The film makes a point of showing the respect with which Muhammad regarded other monotheistic faiths. Twice there are references to Islam's God also being the God of Jews and Christians.
The movie debuted Sunday for a four-day run in 37 North American cities (though not in Pittsburgh). Now Jammal hopes for a second release in the United States, and has his sights set on Europe.
Annoyed by widespread negative media stereotypes, many of America's Muslims will try to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan with a full-length animated feature called "Muhammad: The Last Prophet."
The film's screening in November coincides with Eid al-Fitr, the feast that comes after Ramadan.
"It's not about what the box office generates, but about how much interest and benefit the people can get out of it," says Oussama Jammal, whose animation production company possesses the North American distribution rights to the movie.
Fine Media Group, Jammal's company, had to rent movie theatres and sell tickets on its Web site: finemediagroup.com, after many theatres resisted the idea.
"For us, it is about calming down the anxiety about Islam and Muslims in this country," Jammal said.
Many Muslims also hope that "Muhammad" will increase the understanding of their religion among the larger American society. A recent survey made by the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations discovered that 25 percent of Americans believe anti-Muslim stereotypes. In a separate report, the survey said that negative images of Muslims in media and popular culture are more than positive ones.
"What I'm hoping is that the film will emphasize to the larger community, both Muslims and non-Muslims, that it's important to learn about the life of Muhammad in order to truly understand what Islam is," says Muhammad Quadir, director of the Islamic Society of Central Florida's Center for Peace.
"This is the first time we have a really positive movie that we can feel proud of and encourage people to see," says Areej Zufari, of the Islamic Society. "We are inviting many of our non-Muslim friends to come to see the film."
"Muhammad: The Last Prophet"
"Muhammad: The Last Prophet" will be screened in nearly 40 U.S. and Canadian cities the week of Nov. 14-18.
The movie was directed by Disney veteran Richard Rich. It has depended on scholars from the University of California at Los Angeles, and Georgetown University, as well as others from Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy in Egypt, who spent nearly two years reviewing it before approving it.
Part of Rich's challenge was artistic. Islam forbids any visual representations of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Like other live-action films and documentaries on the prophet's life, the film solves the problem by viewing the action from Muhammad's (pbuh) viewpoint. In the film, Muhammad (pbuh) expresses his respect for the biblical figures Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
Supporters of the movie say that there are probably enough Muslims in the 37 cities where the film will be screened, but they hope that non-Muslims will come as well.
"We do live in a capitalist society," says the Islamic Society's Zufari. "We're hoping that this film will show that a positive, educational movie about Muslims will sell, will make money. Because so far we've only seen Hollywood portray Muslims in a negative light."