It is completely different from the movie “The Message” to which the Majidi’s movie was often compared –naturally as the former has been the only movie ever made about the life of Prophet Muhammad. Majidi, on the other hand, focused on Prophet Muhammad’s childhood on which there is little account in seerah (biography of Prophet) books. “The Message” focused on Prophet Muhammad’s prophethood and especially his battles. Number one reason for this comparison was obviously the time period they handle. The first impression one can get from the movie is that it is completely different from the movie “The Message” to which the Majidi’s movie was often compared –naturally as the former has been the only movie ever made about the life of Prophet Muhammad. No matter how Majidi asserted that it would not be the case, especially due to the tense political atmosphere in the Muslim world and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, the movie could not help being an object of political struggles. The second area where criticisms were intensified towards Majidi and his movie was the concern that he would take the issue in a political and sectarian viewpoint due to his Shiite identity.
There has more or less been a consensus, ‘a silent contract’ on this topic. Nonetheless, the majority of Muslims tend not to depict Prophet Muhammad by visual means although there is no clear prohibition on the matter. On the other hand, as in the traditions of hilya and shama'il, the works that describe both physical and personal characteristics of the Prophet have aroused great interest among the Muslim communities throughout centuries, and it is known that the Prophet has been depicted many times with his face open or disguised. The main reason why the discussions came to a deadlock after a certain point was the question of what should be considered as a depiction. First was the opinion that finds it inappropriate to depict Prophet Muhammad even in a fictional piece of work without showing his face. The discussions were centered in two areas. The movie that had 10 years of pre and post-production process was at the heart of harsh discussions even before any details were released about it. The Iranian director Majid Majidi’s long-awaited latest movie “Muhammad: The Messenger of God” was released on October 28.