Can Iranian Movie 'Muhammad' Alter Islam's Violent Image?

Filmmaker Majidi: 'I decided to make this film to fight
against the new wave of Islamophobia in the West'

DEUTSCHE WELLE: An Iranian biopic of Prophet Muhammad aims to project a positive image of Islam and provide a counter-narrative to the religion's extremist interpretations. But can the movie succeed in dispelling the dominant discourse?

"The more movies that are made about the prophet's life, the better," said Majid Majidi, the director of the high-budget biopic "Muhammad: Messenger of God" at Montreal's world film festival on Friday, August 28. The first part of the planned trilogy, which opened to packed cinema houses in Iran on August 27, captures the time before the birth of the prophet more than 1,400 years ago, and his childhood.

The acclaimed Iranian director, famous for his film "Children of Heaven," has taken pains to show the "rightful image of Islam." The 171-minute movie, which premiered both in Iran and internationally last week, cost the Oscar-nominated director $40 million (36 million euros) and seven years of hard work. But will he be able to alter the tainted image of Islam and its prophet through his movie? » | Shamil Shams | Monday, August 31, 2015