Iranian biopic of Prophet Mohammed sparks controversy

As a multimillion-dollar biopic about the childhood of the Prophet Muhammad is set to premiere on Sunday, Egypt's Al-Azhar University, one of the world's highest Sunni authorities, has urged Iran to refrain from showing the film.

A statement released by the university argued that the movie, made by Shia Iran, should be blocked in order to preserve an undistorted image of the prophet in the minds of Muslims, reported The Guardian.

The film, touted to be Iran's most expensive and lavish film to date, has been made by Majid Majidi, a leading pro-establishment Iranian director who took about five years to make the film. It is the second biopic based on the prophet's life. The first was Moustapha Akkad's 1976 The Message.

Majidi said that they had chosen a period of the prophet's life about which there is no difference between Shia and Sunni scholars and groups and added that it was done with a view to unite the Muslim world.

However, the film has failed to escape contention.

Majidi said that his goal was to present the right image of Islam to the world, adding that the world's perception of the religion did not match with its beauties.

Tehran's Fajr international film festival, which coincides with the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, is set to show the film. However, it will be shown out of competition in order to protect the prophet's dignity.

Iran has been an avid critic of the prophet's portrayal in the west and had severely criticized Charlie Hebdo cover cartoon, published in the aftermath of Paris shootings, which depicted Muhammad weeping and holding up a sign reading Je Suis Charlie.

A large international release is expected to take place in March, at least in the English and Arabic-speaking worlds.