TEHRAN, Iran — Thirty-three years after the famous Syrian film director Moustapha Akkad made a film about the life of the Prophet Muhammad, internationally acclaimed Iranian director Majid Majidi is bringing back the story of the prophet's life to the big screen. The pre-production process started in October 2007, and the first draft for the screenplay was ready in March 2009. The production team had predicted that by the end of winter 2013 the film would be ready. However, it appears that it will not be ready even by the end of winter 2014. This past summer, Majidi promised that the film would be ready and submitted to the 2015 Fajr International Film Festival, the most important film festival in Iran.

Even before its release, Majidi’s film on the prophet of Islam has already created controversy. There have been rumors that Majidi had planned to show Prophet Muhammad’s face in the film. The conservative clerics in Iran, and even in Egypt, are rather sensitive to the idea of venerated religious figures being visually depicted. For example, Ayatollah Sobhani, a Shiite Marja (source to imitate/follow), had already expressed his opinion on the depiction of the prophet and the infallible Shiite imams as follows: “Those people who are playing the role of one of the infallibles are not infallible themselves. Most certainly, they have many shortcomings. So how can they behave and speak as if they are one of these infallibles, and how can people observe them and try to learn from their manners and behavior?”

Majidi has repeatedly denied this rumor and during an interview with Fars News Agency said, “Because of my own beliefs, I am not, and was never, planning to depict his holy image in my film. These rumors are completely unfounded.”

A cleric in Tehran who follows cultural issues, and spoke to Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity, said: “The clergy, regardless of the religion they belong to, are not very comfortable with the idea of depicting a holy figure. I don’t think that any of the previous popes, with the exception of Pope Francis who is very avant-garde, were very happy with the idea of Jesus being depicted in Hollywood and European films. Muslim clerics, both Shiite and Sunni, basically feel the same way." He continued, “On the other hand, Shiites are more sensitive about this issue. For example, during the 1990s, when Davood Mirbagheri directed the series "Imam Ali," he did not show the imam’s face. Naturally, Majid Majidi wouldn’t dare to break such a great taboo either, particularly in a theocratic system and given the large budget that the establishment has provided him with."