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A multimillion-dollar Saudi TV manufacturing portraying the lifetime of an early Islamic ruler has precipitated controversy within the Center East, with Iraq and Iran banning the present and a few clerics denouncing it as sinful.
Reportedly the costliest Arab cleaning soap ever made at as much as $100mn, Muawiya focuses on the contentious seventh century schism that led Muslims to separate into two major denominations, Sunni and Shia, a political and non secular divide that has endured to the current day.
The high-profile sequence with lavish units and epic battle scenes depicts the lifetime of Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, a companion of the Prophet Mohammed, who fought a struggle towards the prophet’s cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib, who’s revered by Shia Muslims.
The present began screening on Saudi-owned broadcaster MBC as a part of its Ramadan programming. The holy month, when Muslims quick from dawn to sundown, is peak tv viewing season within the area with broadcasters releasing dozens of reveals watched by thousands and thousands of households at residence after breaking their quick.
The Shia or Shi’at Ali, that means the partisans of Ali, refers to those that imagine management of the Muslim neighborhood ought to stay within the prophet’s bloodline. Whereas Sunnis — who didn’t help Ali’s declare — now make up the vast majority of the world’s Muslims, Shia characterize an estimated 10-15 per cent of Muslims globally. Iran, Iraq and Bahrain are Shia-majority nations.
Shot in Tunisia with a pan-Arab solid and an Egyptian director, the present’s authentic launch date was pushed again from 2023. Some argued the delay was to keep away from escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia, which considers itself a pacesetter of the Sunni Muslim world, and its Shia-majority neighbours.
“Some 14 centuries later, Sunni and Shia Muslims proceed to disagree on sure historic narratives of the early Islamic interval, together with on Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan,” stated H.A. Hellyer, a senior affiliate fellow on the Royal United Providers Institute for Defence and Safety Research in London.
These completely different views have been usually used to worsen current political rivalries, which at instances have erupted into sectarian violence, he stated.
The Saudis might have determined to launch the sequence after the dominion’s relations with Iraq and Iran improved, in line with Hellyer. “Maybe they really feel their relations with Iraq and Iran are extra resilient, and may take the stress of the strain that may occur consequently,” he stated.
Each nations have banned the present with Baghdad’s broadcasting authorities saying it may “threaten social peace”, however there was no escalation of official rhetoric towards Saudi Arabia.
In Egypt, a scholar at Al-Azhar College stated depicting the character of Muawiya was “religiously unacceptable” whereas one other cleric stated viewing the present was a sin. The spiritual institution in Egypt has lengthy been against filmed depictions of the prophet and his early companions.
Inside Saudi Arabia, opposition from the official spiritual institution has been muted as the dominion opens up underneath Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s social liberalisation agenda.
State-owned MBC Group’s productions have beforehand sparked controversy, most notably with a sequence about seventh century Muslim ruler Umar ibn al-Khattab launched a decade in the past.
That programme was condemned on the time by Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Alsheikh, who blasted movie portrayals of senior figures in Islamic historical past.
Former MBC govt Mazen Hayek stated the group should take inventive dangers with a view to retain audiences who can entry rival choices, together with worldwide streaming companies.
“When you go away edgy materials and edgy subjects just for the international or world companies, you’re going to be left with subjects that everyone produces the identical means,” stated Hayek, who’s now a Dubai-based media advisor.
“Your problem is to protect your secure household viewing and societal norms, and push the envelope of inventive storytelling so that you simply’re nonetheless in a position to compete with world gamers. This can be a high-quality line.”
Viewers have additionally criticised Muawiya over historic inaccuracies and depictions seen as unbefitting of a significant Islamic determine.
Customers on social media have quipped that the scene of his beginning confirmed his mom wearing nightwear from Victoria’s Secret with the child wrapped in a blanket from Zara Residence. One other scene that drew ire confirmed Muawiya topless and wrapped in a towel as his spouse gave him a therapeutic massage after a shower.
Regardless of the bans and disapproval of non secular leaders, viewers should flock to the present. “It’s not clear that bans and controversy are going to wreck the reception of the sequence,” stated Hellyer. “They may even propel scores.”
