Kate in Arabia Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) Salaam and Ramadan kareem :) If you weren't already aware, there's a big brouhaha over here on a tv miniseries about the life of 'Umar ibn al Khattab. Top Saudi cleric slams TV series on Umar set for Ramadan telecast For those who aren't Muslim (or don't know), 'Umar was the second caliph after the death of Muhammad, succeeding Abu Bakr. He was a companion of Muhammad, who converted to Islam and as Caliph expanded the Muslim empire into Egypt and Persia (and other areas). Probably everyone knows that Muslims are, um, sensitive about the portrayal of Muhammad, but many scholars extend this also to his companions and family. In this series there are actors portraying all these people (although not Muhammad himself), hence the uproar. The series chronicles his whole life, so it covers the beginning of Islam, past the death of Muhammad and the first Caliph Abu Bakr, and through to the end of 'Umar's life in 644. In case anyone is interested, the tv producer has put all the videos on its website, and they've started posting videos with English subtitles as well here. It's long, by the end there should be some 30 segments each about 45 minutes long (they show one per day in Ramadan). We're so few here (Muslim posters), I'm not sure where y'all fall on this issue, so forgive me if it offends. I can see both sides of this issue. Edited August 10, 2012 by Kate in Arabia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chibby Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Salaam and Ramadan kareem :) If you weren't already aware, there's a big brouhaha over here on a tv miniseries about the life of 'Umar ibn al Khattab. Top Saudi cleric slams TV series on Umar set for Ramadan telecast For those who aren't Muslim (or don't know), 'Umar was the second caliph after the death of Muhammad, succeeding Abu Bakr. He was a companion of Muhammad, who converted to Islam and as Caliph expanded the Muslim empire into Egypt and Persia (and other areas). Probably everyone knows that Muslims are, um, sensitive about the portrayal of Muhammad, but many scholars extend this also to his companions and family. In this series there are actors portraying all these people (although not Muhammad himself), hence the uproar. The series chronicles his whole life, so it covers the beginning of Islam, past the death of Muhammad and the first Caliph Abu Bakr, and through to the end of 'Umar's life in 644. In case anyone is interested, the tv producer has put all the videos on its website, and they've started posting videos with English subtitles as well here. It's long, by the end there should be some 30 segments each about 45 minutes long (they show one per day in Ramadan). We're so few here (Muslim posters), I'm not sure where y'all fall on this issue, so forgive me if it offends. I can see both sides of this issue. Would you recommend it as a historically accurate series? I would like to see something like this just to learn more about Islam. I'm assuming you're posting this b/c it is a good quality series, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted August 11, 2012 Author Share Posted August 11, 2012 It is good quality, in that they spent millions and it's produced jointly by Qatari and Emirati entities. And the list of scholars they give as people on their advisory board are well known, so one hopes that there is some accuracy (maybe depends on your point of view). We have been watching it and haven't seen anything that we thought "that's totally wrong!", and dh is a history buff. Some of the actors they have portraying people don't match at all what we had envisioned, but isn't that often the way of it? I'm afraid someone who isn't Muslim and/or isn't decidedly interested in Islamic history might get bored -- it's long and not fast-paced. But if you've spent time learning about these stories and people, it's interesting. Two of my children are named after companions, so they were obviously interested to see those particular characters brought to life. A shorter film, The Message with Anthony Quinn, might be better to start with although it has that "religious epic movie" feel, kwim? Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Subbing to look at later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chibby Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 I'm actually looking for documentaries and long, educational movies b/c I decided to take on this crazy time-consuming craft project and it's killing me to think of all the time I'm not using to read. Thank you for your suggestions! I might look at the shorter one first, get some books, then dive into the longer one. Of course, isn't it funny how in any religion there are 50 different opinions on what "really" happened? I will definitely keep that in mind when watching it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Ramadan kareem! Thank you sister! I'll take a look later tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UmmHumza Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Thanks for posting the links! I think the project sounds very interesting. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ummto4 Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Jazakillah khair Kate. You're right though. It's slow moving and a bit verbose/preachy ? Plus, Umar doesn't look like what I envisioned him to be. He's also pretty meek there - I always thought that he's a bit brash. Nevertheless, it's pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 So cool, thanks for posting. We named our youngest Omar...so totally have to watch it. :D Ramadan Kareem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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