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Iranian film about Prophet Muhammad causes stir in Turkey

“Muhammad: The Messenger of God” opened in Turkey to mixed and emotional reviews.
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“Muhammad: The Messenger of God,” a film by the Iranian director Majid Majidi, opened in Turkish theaters Oct. 28, selling a remarkable 261,376 tickets in its first week. Reviews for the film, which focuses on the childhood of the Islamic prophet, have varied, particularly those by Islamists, for whom portrayals of the prophet in popular media come with high stakes.

Islamists have assessed “Muhammad” in terms of the role of religious sensibilities in its content, including scenes of miraculous events, as well as concerns of off-screen sectarianism and politics. Some critics have dismissed the film entirely on the ground that it is cinematic art with “Western roots.” On the other hand, Hayrettin Karaman, a respected religious authority in conservative Islamist circles, approved of the film when he viewed it last year.

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