BBC ‘Life of Mohammed’

Rageh Omaar will be presenting for the BBC a 3 part series on the ‘Life of Mohammed’, due for broadcast tomorrow evening at 9.00 (11th July). There’s a three page article in this weeks Radio Times where we are told the program will avoid any attempt at portraying an image of Mohammed or in any way upsetting Muslim sensibilities. We can expect then, a completely un-biased portrayal of his life. I think not! The reality is Rageh Omaar is a Muslim, the head of BBC religious broadcasting – Aaqil Ahmed – is a Muslim, the left have an interest in destroying the Christian faith so we can expect a program with that agenda, so it’s best not to pretend otherwise. The Radio Times webpage about the program says, ‘it’s an even-handed account of Muhammad’s life that blends perspective and insight’. Hmmm. Of course on the other hand, if it were a history of the Church, again I would expect a biased account. The majority of history programs that have anything to do with the Christian faith however, tend to be biased against the Christian faith or a hopeless misrepresentation. I agree with Cromwell, let’s paint it ‘warts and all’. We know that’s not going to happen tomorrow any more than a true ‘warts and all‘ (usually just the warts) account of the Christian faith is going to happen.

Will I watch it? I’ll try too. If I expect nothing less than a complete whitewash and total PR charm offensive; at least I won’t be surprised.

Comment on the above image.

‘Mohammed receiving his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. Miniature illustration on vellum from the book Jami’ al-Tawarikh (literally “Compendium of Chronicles” but often referred to as The Universal History or History of the World), by Rashid al-Din, published in Tabriz, Persia, 1307 A.D. Now in the collection of the Edinburgh University Library, Scotland.’

Apparently then, ‘In 1999, Islamic art expert Wijdan Ali wrote a scholarly overview of the Muslim tradition of depicting Mohammed. In that essay, Ali demonstrates that the prohibition against depicting Mohammed did not arise until as late as the 16th or 17th century, despite the media’s recent false claims that it has always been forbidden for Muslims to draw Mohammed. Until comparatively recently in Islamic history, it was perfectly common to show Mohammed, either in full (as revealed on this page), or with his face hidden (as shown on the next page). Even after the 17th century, up to modern times, Islamic depictions of Mohammed (especially in Shi’ite areas) continued to be produced.’ Go to Mohammed Image Archive to read more on Islamic images.

See: BBC ‘Life of Mohammed’ Observations Part 1 & BBC ‘Life of Mohammed’ Observations Part 2