The 'Noah' Film

Once again, al-Azhar is facing the depiction of prophets on-screen and has released a special message about it. With the upcoming release of the film “Noah,” telling the story of the prophet Noah (peace be upon him), the door has been opened anew to the controversy of depicting prophets in movies. I don’t want to get too involved in the controversy, for I respect the honorable al-Azhar, its statements and fatwas. Al-Azhar is our main frame of reference as Muslims. I do, however, want to bring up some important points.

First of all, I’d like to reiterate the point made by the Egyptian Creativity Front made in a statement expressing its displeasure with al-Azhar’s stance on banning the depiction of prophets in film. The Creativity Front stated, “[The prohibition of the depiction of prophets] is simply the ruling of sheiks and scholars; there is no Quranic verse or Hadith, which firmly and unambiguously settles the matter. If our sheiks have to make some statement about it, settling the matter for us in the sight of God, and if it’s all a matter of interpretation, maybe our distinguished sheiks should run their judgment by public intellectuals and others in society, considering the fact that the judgment of such matters is open since revelation has ended.”

With the spread of the Internet, it’s known that the film will be shown under any circumstance; people all over the world will watch it — they will be even more eager to search for it on YouTube. This is natural; forbidden fruit is sweet.

Another thing: Cinema is one of the most influential tools for our minds. Don’t we all remember Ahmed Mazhar’s portrayal of Salladin, or Abdallah Gayth’s portrayal of the honorable Hamzah? If these figures were not portrayed in movies, many people wouldn’t know about them — especially those who don’t care to read history or biographies. What I’m trying to say is that drama can be influential. So, why not take advantage of it? Instead of forbidding it, let us step in and offer proven and true information on the subject.

Another thing: Why does al-Azhar go all the way to banning it? Why can’t it just be content to say that it is opposed to it, or that it prefers not to watch it?

The prophet Noah, peace be upon him, is portrayed by actor Russell Crowe. The film is directed by Darren Aronofsky, and spotlights the Flood and the saving of mankind from death. Top-of-the-line technology is used to depict the Flood as described in the Holy books and imagined by man, as well as to show the gathering of different types of animals on the ark. Noah is a prophet in the three monotheistic religions, so he also belongs to Christians and Jews. Those religions do not forbid the depiction of prophets. Don’t you realize that the film “The Message,” especially the English version of it, from Syrian director Moustapha Akkad (God rest his soul), led many people to Islam?