"The Message", originally named
"Mohammad: Messenger of God", is one of the all-time greatest films made
about Islam. Although it wasn't a Hollywood film, it aimed towards some
of the greatest Hollywood actors and used some of the best Hollywood
technology of its time. The movie took four years to prepare, and was
written by one of the most famous screenplay writers of the seventies,
H.A.L. Craig (also wrote Lion of the Dessert). Director Moustapha Akkad
set a landmark in the film industry when he became the first to film a
movie in two completely different languages, simultaneously! The film,
starring Anthony Quinn as Hamza in the English version has a completely
separate cast for its Arabic version. The movie is one of the most
informative, if not the most informative, non-documentary
film about Islam ever. It is a great film about the early troubles of
the companions of the Prophet and about the struggle Islam went through.
It starts with a brief description of Mecca before Muhammad's
PBUH prophethood shows some of the ways God had to
save Islam from near destructions several times. It carries through the
many difficulties of Islam over the life of the Prophet
PBUH and ends at the time of his death.
This script of this movie was
approved page by page by Sunni and Shiite universities in Egypt and
Lebanon for its accuracy and fidelity. The film does not portray the
Prophet or his major Companions in any figure. In fact, Moustapha Akkad
used a clever trick in which the other actors talk to the camera when
they refer to Muhammad. This is a great film and a must see!
