A movie series on the life of Prophet Mohammed with a budget of US$1 billion has been planned by a Qatar-based firm, according to a report by AFP.
Al Noor Holding said that it will raise the budget for the planned production to US$1 billion from US$1.5 million announced three years ago.
The company said that the film will be in English, translated into several other languages “to correct the wrong image Western societies have of Islam.”
“The biopics will be produced as a series of seven films instead of three films as per an earlier announcement with a total budget of US$1 billion,” Ahmed Al-Hashemi, Chairman of the Company said in a statement.
He said that a team of experts has finished writing the scenario after overcoming numerous artistic and dramatic challenges.
Al Noor had announced in 2009 that it was seeking financing for the film series, to be produced by Barrie Osborne, a Hollywood veteran of more than 40 years whose credits include ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Matrix.’
The Prophet himself will not appear in the films, out of respect for Islamic traditions forbidding publication of his images.
Leading research
Prominent Qatar-based Sunni cleric Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, head of the Association of Muslim Scholars, will lead research on the film and serve as technical consultant on the project.
Last year, an American low-budget movie called ‘Innocence of Muslims’ that mocked the Prophet triggered a wave of deadly anti-US violence around the Islamic world.
In recent months, an Egyptian campaign to defend Islam’s Prophet was launched under the title ‘Knock on Doors,’ which aims mainly to collect one billion Egyptian pounds (US$165 million), local Egyptian media reported.
Rose Event
On a related note, walkers at the Dubai Marina Walk on December 29, 2012 were offered roses with a message of ‘peace and good manners,’ inspired by the sayings of Prophet Mohammed.
The event was part ‘The True Message of the Prophet’ global campaign organised by young Muslims and coordinated on the social media websites Facebook and Twitter.
After having organised a similar activity in Norway, UK, Germany and Egypt, about 50 volunteers participated in ‘Dubai Rose Event’ to distribute 1000 roses with tiny papers attached to them including sayings by the Prophet that promote harmony among people.
“This event was a positive reaction to the ‘Innocence of Muslims’. The youth wanted people to know about the Prophet in a beautiful way,” Ahmad Abugosh, an event organiser said.
Source: Al Arabiya News
