Bombs away…

ALLAHYAR, Iran (AP) — Here in this Persian replica of Mecca, built at the cost of millions of dollars [$30 million], an Iranian film company is attempting to offer the world a literal glimpse of the Prophet Muhammad despite traditional taboos against it.

The movie “Muhammad, Messenger of God” already recalls the grandeur — and expense — of a Cecil B. DeMille film, with the narrow alleyways and a replica Kaaba shrine built here in the remote village of Allahyar. But by even showing the back of the Prophet Muhammad as a child before he was called upon by Allah, the most expensive film in Iranian history already has been criticized before its even widely released, calling into question who ultimately will see the Quranic story come to life on the big screen.

“How should we introduce our prophet?” asked Majid Majidi, the film’s director. “Many relay their messages to the world through cinema and pictures.”

… Islamic tradition is full of written descriptions of Muhammad and his qualities — describing him as the ideal human being. But clerics generally have agreed that trying to depict that ideal is forbidden. The Paris terror attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which killed 12 people in January, saw gunmen target it over its caricature of the prophet.

But while Sunni Islam, the religion’s dominant branch, widely rejects any depictions of Muhammad, his close relatives or companions, Shiite Islam doesn’t. In Shiite powerhouse Iran and other countries, posters, banners, jewelry and even keychains bear the images of Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali, revered by Shiites who see him as the prophet’s rightful successor. The late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, who led Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and later became the country’s supreme leader, reportedly even kept a picture similar to young Muhammad in his room for years.

In the new 190-minute film, the story focuses on Muhammad’s childhood, never showing his face. The movie instead uses others to tell his story, like his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib, portrayed by Iranian actor Ali Reza Shoja Nouri. […]

Majidi said he would be ready to cooperate with any Islamic country planning a film on Muhammad.

“We are ready to cooperate to produce any movies to introduce Muhammad to the world,” Majidi said. “We are an Islamic country, we know the related culture and we have capabilities for production of such movies.”

So far, the film appears to have the support of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s current supreme leader, who attended an inauguration of the film’s set in 2012.