"The Message" or "Al-risâlah" is a historical depiction of Islamic genesis. Interestingly, it was filmed simultaneously at two different languages with two different casts. The Arabic version was released earlier in 1976 followed by the English one in 1977 (1). In correspondence with Muslim traditions, the movie didn't portray Mohammed's face and voice, so the main character was his uncle, Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib (2).
Produced by Filmco International Production in collaboration of Egypt with Libya, and featuring 28 different nationalities and cultures, it was initially banned in some Middle Eastern countries. The reason was that some religious leaders did not approve the story of Prophet Muhammed being put into a movie (1, 2).
"The Message" told the story the Messenger of God, who received revelations in the mountains. That times, in the 7th century AD, the Arabic world was polytheistic. Therefore, Mohammed's message of the sole God was considered radical. Moreover, it faced harsh resistance. Many episodes of the movie reviled fights between Muslims and conservative Arabs that were willing to stick to idolatry. Nonetheless, it started gathering followers and eventually, became one of the world religions.
In a truly fascinating way, "The Message" had shown that a new for that times religion faced numerous obstacles. Resistance of the Arabs to the new religious idea of a sole God brought a gap between citizens of Mecca - "dividing the city, dividing the generations: children from parents". Such struggles of splitting people at the beginning and reuniting through war reminded me of foundation of the Protestant Church by Martin Luther. His ideas were also considered radical, and he met the resistance in the face of Pope and the Emperor.
One of the first scenes of the movie was a disclaimer asserting its historical accuracy. For instance, the age at which the Prophet started receiving revelations, the Hijra - migration of Prophet Mohammed and his companions from Mecca to Medina, and other depicted events corresponded to agreed scholar's findings.
Though the movie was filmed far after the events it depicted, it fully immersed to the atmosphere of the 7th century AD. The setting of ancient city of Mecca took more than four month (2). The scenery of deserts, camels and slaves gave the insight into lifestyle of the population. Moreover, the accompanying music was dramatic and full of wind instruments, which gave that Middle East mood. Especially, at the ending, when the Mohammed's army marched into Mecca, enhanced sounds of drums conveyed powerful feeling of victory. Noteworthy, the costumes of people on two sides - Muslim and Polytheist portrayed disagreement between them. The Muslims, robed white pilgrimage clothing stood out from the others. Turns out, it had a particular meaning. The Ihram clothing of the white color implied equity of everyone in front of the God. Mohammed taught that "slave is equal to his master", "before God, all men are equal as the teeth of a comb". These ideas sounded ridiculous to the population, and were considered very convenient for slaves and beggars to have an illusion of equity. Apparently, equity was not the feature of Arabic community at that time. For instance, newborn girls were buried, slaves were bought and sold.
Going back to the movie, the production team and cast have done a great job. Memorable episode in my mind was when a slave, even ordered, did not whip Ammar. For refusing to follow the order, he was punished with a heavy hand. Even being beaten up, he would claim that the God was one. Seemingly, this scene showed that the faith was not given up in the fear of human authority; despite all the beatings and anger, the man stuck to his faith.
Talking about teaching of Prophet Mohammed, it was thrilling how a man that could not read and write transmitted words of God to those who could. Moreover, encouraged his companions to learn reading and writing, and further, teach others. Same as me, Arabs were surprised with illiterate man who conveyed words of God in Quran. Prophet Mohammed was suspected for conveying his own ideas and actually receiving the revelations. Later, his companions delivered that those were the words of God, similarly to Christianity and Judaism. It also worth noting, that spreading of the Islam went through conquering. Notably, the battles were within Arabs, not from someone outside. From the movie, it seemed that there were no political interest in conquering Mecca. Indeed, it was an intended transmission of religion through forceful destruction of relics of idolatry. Not only the movie depicted events happening in Mecca and Medina, but also narrated other historical events. These narrations gave a context of all of the events, and enhanced comprehension. The same narration was observed in above mentioned "Martin Luther" film, which I guess is a common feature of majority of historical movies. Finally, "The message" lasted for almost three hours portraying early Islamic history in its best, including all of the struggles and battles.
Talking about teaching of Prophet Mohammed, it was thrilling how a man that could not read and write transmitted words of God to those who could. Moreover, encouraged his companions to learn reading and writing, and further, teach others. Same as me, Arabs were surprised with illiterate man who conveyed words of God in Quran. Prophet Mohammed was suspected for conveying his own ideas and actually receiving the revelations. Later, his companions delivered that those were the words of God, similarly to Christianity and Judaism. It also worth noting, that spreading of the Islam went through conquering. Notably, the battles were within Arabs, not from someone outside. From the movie, it seemed that there were no political interest in conquering Mecca. Indeed, it was an intended transmission of religion through forceful destruction of relics of idolatry. Not only the movie depicted events happening in Mecca and Medina, but also narrated other historical events. These narrations gave a context of all of the events, and enhanced comprehension. The same narration was observed in above mentioned "Martin Luther" film, which I guess is a common feature of majority of historical movies. Finally, "The message" lasted for almost three hours portraying early Islamic history in its best, including all of the struggles and battles.