What Sparked It

By RICHARD SCHICKEL

If the terrorists had not called violent attention to it, Mohammad, Messenger of God might have slipped into movie history as a footnote, proving that the capacity to make stupefying religious epics is not exclusively Judeo-Christian.

Producer-Director Moustapha Akkad was confronted by a unique problem: the strict Muslim prohibition against representing the Prophet's face or form, or even his voice--in any medium. A wiser or less determined man might have bailed out right there, but Akkad, 43, a Syrian-born American who studied film making at U.C.L.A., pressed on, raising $17 million from Arab sources to make two versions of the story, one in English, the other in Arabic. His actors constantly address an empty space where the audience must imagine a silent Prophet to be standing.

Most of the film's three-hour length is taken up with a camel's-pace exposition of the troubles encountered by the Prophet's disciples when their monotheism threatened the economic health of Mecca, which in the 7th century A.D. was in the graven-image business--attracting pilgrims to the shrines of some 300 local gods. The tortures, exiles and triumphs of the Prophet's followers are accompanied by much pacifistic blather--at least in the version for infidels. The intent is to counteract the Western belief that Islam is a faith that comes bearing only a sword. Whatever one thinks of all this, it sure slows the picture down.

It also lies at the heart of Arab protests. Grand Sheik Abdel Halim Mahmoud of Al Azhar University in Cairo, has said: "The Koran is revelation, and the life of the Prophet is a divine commentary on that revelation. The idea of them being portrayed by others is particularly offensive." American viewers may find the theological objections of the faithful difficult to fathom. But they will have to accord them high marks as movie critics.

Richard Schickel

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