|
‘The Message’ to be remade
(AFP) DUBAI – Producer Oscar Zoghbi has joined a team working on a new picture on the birth of Islam, according to details unveiled in Dubai last month. Titled "The Messenger of Peace," the movie will be set during the time of the Prophet Mohammed, a media statement by the production company said. Zoghbi also contributed to making the original 1977 film "The Message," regarded as the only epic to portray early Islam. The new film "is not about division and conflict but will focus wholly on the rich values common to all Muslims, like compassion and tolerance," Zoghbi said. Having worked with Moustapha Akkad, director of "The Message," Zoghbi said he appreciates the sensitivities and challenges linked with the subject of Islam. As with "The Message," there will be no depiction of the Prophet Mohammed on screen, as images of the prophet are strictly forbidden in Islam. "Since 9/11, Islam’s image has suffered tremendously," said Hajja Subhia Abu Elheja, an international film financier and executive producer of the new movie. "Now more than ever it has become important to bridge the gap of understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims." "It is telling that only one great historical film has ever been made about Islam, a religion with 1.5 billion followers, whereas Christianity has been the subject of over 30," he said. Hollywood director Ramsey Thomas will write the script for the new film, which will be shot in English but dubbed into other languages, in particular Arabic.
Videogame delayed over possible offense to Muslims
Videogame delayed over possible offense to Muslims
(By SAAQIB RANGOONWALA) LONDON — Release of one of the most eagerly anticipated games in the history of the Sony PlayStation was delayed last month for about a week because of concerns that some of the background music may offend Muslims, the game’s developers said. LittleBigPlanet, in which gamers can customize the rag-doll protagonist Sackboy and allow it to roam through an interactive world filled with different challenges, had been hailed by video games website IGN as "nothing short of astounding" and given a review rating of 9.5 out of 10. But its release date was pushed back after one of its background music tracks, a song by Mali-born artist Toumani Diabate, was found to have included expressions from the Qur’an. A post on a Sony public Internet forum alerted developers to the issue. The forum user, who identified himself only as "yasser,"said that "Muslims consider the mixing of music and words from our Holy Qur’an deeply offending." Diabate defended his song in a statement issued to MTV Multiplayer, explaining that inclusion of verses from the Qur’an was his "way to attract and inspire people toward Islam." Diabate told MTV Multiplayer that "it is quite normal to play music and be inspired by the words of the Prophet Mohammad" in his native Mali. A representative from his label, World Circuit Records, added that the musician "never performs without speaking about God, either before, during or after the performance." According to a description of the song provided to MTV Multiplayer by World Circuit Records, Diabate adapts a traditional Malian song about the death of a much-loved hippopotamus who has been shot by a white hunter. In the original song, the griots of the village sing about how difficult it is to be separated from your loved one in death. Diabate adapts this song in "Tapha Niang" to lament the death of his brother Mustapha, who died very young as a child. He draws on the excerpts from the Qur’an to console him and help him overcome his bereavement. The delayed release was welcomed by some Muslim commentators, with Manzoor Moghal of the Muslim Forum think-tank telling the BBC that the game’s developers should be praised for "taking decisive action by withdrawing these games immediately, and releasing a version that is not offensive to Muslims."
AFP Contributed to this report.
Yusuf Islam’s Israel appearance is nixed
(InFocus News Staff) TEL AVIV, Israel – Yusuf Islam’s planned visit to Israel was cancelled by the hosts who originally invited him. Islam was to sing "Peace Train," the hit he made world-famous as Cat Stevens, at the high-profile 10th anniversary celebrations in Tel Aviv of The Peres Center for Peace, an organization founded by Israel’s President Shimon Peres, and devoted to improving Israeli-Palestinian relations. But in a terse statement, the center confirmed yesterday that Islam would not be coming after a "re-evaluation." A report in Israel’s largest circulation newspaper said that the 60-year-old Islam had been enthusiastic about the trip and had asked to add words to his 1971 hit in support of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The show’s producer, Irit Tenhangel, was not happy about the decision to withdraw the invitation. "The fact that a singer who converted to Islam wants to come to Israel and express his support for peace and we’re not letting him do so infuriates me," Tenhangel told Ynet.
Muslim scholars back Iraqi Christians
(InFocus News Staff) BAGHDAD – The distribution of leaflets that threatened the Christian community in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul was denounced by the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq. The leaflets reportedly called on the Christian community to convert to Islam, pay a tax levied against non-Muslims, called jizya, or face death. In a statement posted on its Web site, the AMSI said this type of discrimination was forbidden in Islam and violates its teachings regarding harmonious relations with members of other religions. The Muslim scholars said the practice of threatening minorities is inconsistent with the move toward national reconciliation and interferes with the solidarity required to "expel the occupation, to liberate Iraq from its clutches and followers." The statement concluded with a call for the "dear Christian citizens" of Iraq to stand strong against oppression.
|
