{"id":5867,"date":"2015-09-03T10:43:12","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T09:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=5867"},"modified":"2015-09-03T10:43:12","modified_gmt":"2015-09-03T09:43:12","slug":"untrue-iranian-film-on-prophet-roundly-slammed-by-scholars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/untrue-iranian-film-on-prophet-roundly-slammed-by-scholars\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Untrue\u2019 Iranian film on Prophet roundly slammed by scholars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sheikh<\/a>Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh has slammed the Iranian-produced film entitled \u2018Mohammed Messenger of God,\u2019 saying that Islam does not allow the Prophet, peace be upon him, to be depicted in this manner.
\nHe said the film depicts the Prophet in an \u201cuntrue light\u201d and undermines the important role he plays in Islam. \u201cThis is a mockery of the Prophet and a degradation of his status,\u201d he said.
\nNearly 140 cinemas in Iran began showing the $40 million film, the most expensive in Iranian history, this week. According to the film\u2019s director Majid Majidi, the aim of the 171-minute production is \u201cto promote Islamic unity.\u201d
\nMajidi said the aim of his work, the first part of a trilogy, is to reclaim the rightful image of Islam, which he said extremists have distorted.
\nAl-Azhar scholars denounced the film last week, demanding that the Iranian government ban it. Abdulfatah Al-Awari, dean of the faculty of theology at Al-Azhar University, said \u201cit is not permitted under Shariah to embody the prophets.\u201d
\nThe Muslim World League (MWL) has also denounced the movie, which was shown last Thursday at the Montreal Film Festival in Canada, with scenes characterizing the body and figure of the Prophet (pbuh).
\nAbdullah bin Abdulmohsen Al-Turki, the MWL\u2019s secretary general, said the Prophet should not be represented in this manner. Al-Turki urged Tehran to \u201csuspend and prevent the screening of the movie\u201d and called on Muslims to boycott it.
\nWhile Iran has denounced cartoons of the prophet like those published by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Shiites are generally more relaxed than Sunnis about depiction of religious figures.<\/p>\n

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