Mohammed - The Messenger of God

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Movie
German title Mohammed - The Messenger of God
Original title Mohammad, Messenger of God
The Message
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 1976
length approx. 177 minutes
Age rating FSK from 12
Rod
Director Moustapha Akkad
script HAL Craig
production Filmco International Productions Inc.
music Maurice Jarre
camera Jack Hildyard ,
Sid Baker ,
Ibrahim Salem
cut John Bloom
occupation

Mohammed - The Messenger of God is a 1976 film about the life of the Prophet Mohammed .

The film was produced by Moustapha Akkad in English and Arabic. The original title is " Mohammad - The Messenger of God ", in the USA it was shown under the title " The Message ", which is the Arabic titleالرسالة / ar-Risāla  / 'the message'. It was shot in Morocco and Libya .

The film is about the origin and early period of Islam , about its first followers and their persecution by the Quraish , about the first emigration to Abyssinia , the Hijra in 622, the battles of Badr and Uhud , the capture of Mecca in 630.

Out of respect for the Muslim tradition, the prophet cannot be seen or heard in the film, as are his wives and the first caliphs . Scenes in which Mohammed is nearby are accompanied by soft organ music. His words are quoted by Hamza, Zaid, Bilal or others. In the battle of Badr ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib cannot be seen, but the point of his sword Zulfiqar . When Mohammed arrives in Medina , his female camel Qaswa can be seen .

action

Mecca in the seventh century, around the year 610: life in the city is mainly centered on trade and under the control of a religious leadership who propagates belief in many gods . The 40-year-old illiterate Mohammed , after spending several days in a cave after receiving inspiration from God through the Archangel Gabriel , announced that there was only one real God ( Allah ) and only one real religion; the Islam , d. H. submission to (the only) God or complete surrender to God. Mohammed first passes these words of God on to his friends ( Sahāba ), after which one gradually begins to practice this new faith, which quickly finds acceptance among the people of Mecca.

Mohammed thus undermines the age-old belief in idols and with it the previously unlimited power of the rulers. The prophet condemns injustice, drunkenness and slavery, among other things, and calls for equality of races, abolition of social differences, equality for women and places great value on education. However, these views lead to conflicts with the previous religious leaders, who see their power base threatened as a result.

The rulers therefore dislike Muhammad's message of tolerance and equality, and they decide to harass him and his growing followers and drive them out of the city. They fight Mohammed and his followers with all means, including torture, but they are determined to hold on to their new religion and to proclaim and further spread their message, the pure doctrine of the one God. Mohammed and his followers are protected by his uncle Hamza , the "lion of the desert", since he also professes the faith of his nephew, Mohammed has in him a fearless and energetic ally. When a black slave named Bilal refuses to whip one of the believers as punishment, he is tortured almost to death by his master, but he is ransomed in time through a payment by Mohammed and is now also one of his followers.

When the pressure on the new community of believers in Mecca became too great, Mohammed sent most of his followers to Abyssinia to protect him from a Christian king who was supposed to be very merciful. The opposing forces from Mecca follow them to bring them back and punish them. The king does not want to condemn the refugees and hand them over without first having heard their contentious message. When he hears the transmitted words of God about the Virgin Mary and Jesus from the Koran from the followers of Muhammad , the king and his priests realize that these must actually be God's words. He therefore decides to place the refugees under his protection, to take them into his country and to grant them that they can stay as long as they want.

In Mecca, the opponents of the new religion are planning an assassination attempt on Mohammed in order to put an end to this movement for good. In carrying out the plan at night, however, they only find his cousin ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib in the bed of the Prophet ; Mohammed and one of his best friends, Abū Bakr, are already fleeing to Medina to seek refuge there and to spread the faith. The opponents pursue them through the desert, but without success, so Mohammed is greeted with joy on his arrival in Medina. The previous ambivalent ruler of the city has no choice but to bow to the majority and pretend that he also believes in Islam.

When everyone wants Mohammed to be their guest, the prophet decides, in order not to offend anyone, to let his camel with the name Qaswa run free and to settle where the camel goes and rest. After Mohammed was expelled from Mecca, the prophet succeeds in convincing more and more people in the area. Word of his revelation spread rapidly in Medina, so that he and his followers gained more and more influence and followers. The faithful build their first mosque in Medina and Bilal, the former slave, is the first to call to prayer . But Mohammed is also very popular outside of Medina, although he and his followers live under constant threat from the Mecca troops. The opposing Meccans plunder the former homes of the refugees and sell their belongings. Mohammed's uncle Hamza wants to take revenge and demands war, but the prophet hesitates and preaches patience for the time being.

Only when God reveals to him and allows himself to be defended do the believers take up arms. But there is no question of holy war for the spread of the faith, but the weapon may only be used to defend oneself. So there are finally several armed conflicts between the believers, almost all of whom are in Medina, and the unbelievers from Mecca; including the Battle of Badr in 624 and a year later the Battle of Uhud . After a ceasefire and a kind of peace treaty between the two parties, there is a period of calm, but is broken by the opponents of Islam by a night attack.

The Muslims are now forming up in return, as revenge for conquering Mecca and making their first pilgrimage ( Hajj ) there. On the night before the conquest of Mecca, the leader Abū Sufyān ibn Harb came as their representative for the trial and asked him to stop, as he or his troops had not committed the attack. Until then, Abu Sufyan was a staunch opponent of Muhammad and persecutor of his followers. Mohammed therefore refuses further negotiations with him, but assures that no prisoners will be taken and no one will be killed in the voluntary surrender of the city. That same night, Abu Sufyan realizes that Mohammed is the prophet of God and in his presence also converts to Islam with the profession of faith ( Shahāda ).

Mecca is finally conquered by the believers without shedding blood. Mohammed then goes into the Kaaba and overturns all the idols of the gods there, while Bilal climbs onto the Kaaba in order to demonstratively sing the call to prayer.

From the off , a voice tells, among other things, that Mohammed did not take revenge on his former persecutors and did not allow any. The Prophet declared Mecca a holy city and all bloodshed was forbidden. Soon after, the new religion called Islam was spread across Arabia . The Prophet still saw the completion of his work, but gradually began to feel the nearness of death. But one great act of his prophethood remained for him to do; composing the seal. He called the believers to himself and spoke for the last time of devotion to God and of humanity towards people.

Towards the end of the film, the staged voice of Muhammad speaks from the off that he will probably not be with the people much longer. One should feed the poor from what one eats oneself and dress them as one dresses oneself. One will have to give account when one meets God; may those present warn those absent. All human beings are descended from Adam. The noblest among men is the one who is most pious before God. Everyone should think deeply about what he is saying. One should not let feuds with one another, since each Muslim is the other's brother. Nobody should oppress someone else and not allow themselves to be oppressed. He also says: “Oh my people, I am only human, maybe the Angel of Death will visit me soon and death will overcome me. Yet I leave you a book revealed by God; the Koran . If you hold on to this, you will never go astray. ” At the end of this address, the prophet recites God's words from the Koran; the third verse of sura 6: “Today I (God) have completed your religion and completed my grace. I have chosen Islam as your religion. "

The narrator's voice now announces that the prophet died on June 8, 632 at the age of 63. Many people could not believe that such a man had died. But his loyal friend Abu Bakr (and later the first caliph ) said: “If anyone has worshiped Mohammed, let him know that Mohammed is dead. But whom God worships let them know that God is alive and does not die. ” Mohammed was buried next to his mosque in Medina. The film continues to tell that the religion that he had proclaimed found its way into people's hearts, that it survived and spread. And that the believers still come to Mecca; “The followers of Islam, dressed in white pilgrim style: all equal before God. All gathered in the place of prayer. Every single soul unites with the great community of worship and adoration of the one God. "

You can see a recently recorded scene in which numerous pilgrims dressed in white circling the Kaaba on their pilgrimage to Mecca. During the credits you can see various minarets and mosques and hear different voices calling to prayer. Finally, it is shown how people from the most diverse cultures and ethnic backgrounds perform the ritual prayer together while the theme music is played.

Awards

The film was in 1978 for the Oscar for the film music by Maurice Jarre nominated.

Reviews

“Since the background and historical connections are not adequately presented, mostly just an overly long war spectacle from the seventh century with extensive battle scenes. The film hardly provides any information about the spiritual and spiritual world of Islam. "

- Lexicon of international film

Controversy

The pictorial representation of the Prophet Mohammed is controversial in Islam and is in part regarded as forbidden . Although the film does not contain such a representation, the showing of the film led to some violent reactions from Muslims. So there were demonstrations in London by Arabs living there and in Berlin and Hamburg by Turks; bomb threats continued against cinemas showing the film. In Washington DC, the city hall, a mosque and a building belonging to the B'nai B'rith Jewish order were stormed by a radical Islamic organization. More than 100 people were held hostage and one person was killed.

Arabic film version

In parallel to the recordings of the English version, Moustapha Akkad produced the film in Arabic with Arabic actors.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mohammed - The Messenger of God. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ Mohammed or From Mecca to Hollywood from July 25, 1977 in Der Spiegel