Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Encyclopedia
Muhammad: Legacy of the Prophet is a PBS
documentary film
about the life of Islamic prophet
Muhammad
based on historical records and on the stories of living American Muslims who call Muhammad the Messenger of God. It was produced by Alex Kronemer
and Michael Wolfe
of Unity Productions Foundation and Kikim Media.
and ancient Middle Eastern
sites where Muhammad's story unfolded, but also into the homes, mosques and workplaces of some of America's estimated 7 million Muslims
to discover the many ways in which they follow Muhammad's example. Scholars on Islam provide historical context and critical perspective.
Producer and director Michael Schwarz stated;
, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
, Arabian Bulk Trade, Sabadia Family Foundation, Irfan Kathwari Foundation, El-Hibri Foundation, Qureishi Family Trust, and many individual contributors.
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the life of Islamic prophet
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
based on historical records and on the stories of living American Muslims who call Muhammad the Messenger of God. It was produced by Alex Kronemer
Alex Kronemer
Alexander Kronemer the co-executive producer of Unity Productions Foundation. He is also a writer, lecturer and documentary producer focusing on religious diversity, Islam and cross-cultural understanding....
and Michael Wolfe
Michael Wolfe
Michael Wolfe is an American poet, author, and the President and Executive Producer of . He is also a frequent lecturer on Islamic issues at universities across the United States including Harvard, Georgetown, Stanford, SUNY Buffalo, and Princeton...
of Unity Productions Foundation and Kikim Media.
Content
Three years in the making, the documentary tells the story of the seventh century prophet who changed world history in 23 years, and continues to shape the lives of more than 1.2 billion people. The film takes viewers not only to the Arabian desertPre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabic civilization which existed in the Arabian Plate before the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam.-Studies:...
and ancient Middle Eastern
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
sites where Muhammad's story unfolded, but also into the homes, mosques and workplaces of some of America's estimated 7 million Muslims
Islam in the United States
From the 1880s to 1914, several thousand Muslims immigrated to the United States from the Ottoman Empire, and from parts of South Asia; they did not form distinctive settlements, and probably most assimilated into the wider society....
to discover the many ways in which they follow Muhammad's example. Scholars on Islam provide historical context and critical perspective.
Producer and director Michael Schwarz stated;
"There are six to seven million Muslims here in America, where Islam is the country’s fastest growing religion, but many Americans are completely unfamiliar with the life story of the remarkable man who founded this religion 1400 years ago."
Appearances
Among the people in the film, the following are included:- Karen ArmstrongKaren ArmstrongKaren Armstrong FRSL , is a British author and commentator who is the author of twelve books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic nun, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical faith...
- Former nun, author on Abrahamic religionsAbrahamic religionsAbrahamic religions are the monotheistic faiths emphasizing and tracing their common origin to Abraham or recognizing a spiritual tradition identified with him...
and 2008 TEDPrizeTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
winner - John Voll - Professor of Islamic history, Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
- Seyyed Hossein Nasr - Well known Shi'a Twelver Islamic scholar, honored at the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
- Reuven Firestone - Scholar of Islam and Judaism, Hebrew Union CollegeHebrew Union CollegeThe Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
- Daisy Khan - Executive director of Asma Society
- M. Cherif Bassiouni - Professor of Law, DePaul UniversityDePaul UniversityDePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
, 1999 Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
nominee. - Mohammed ZakariyaMohammed ZakariyaMohamed Zakariya , born 1942 in Ventura, California, is an American master of Arabic calligraphy. An American Muslim, he is perhaps best known for his work on the popular Eid U.S. postage stamp. Raised in California, Zakariya trained as an aerospace engineer as a young man. However, a trip to...
- Muslim convert and master Calligrapher - Hamza YusufHamza YusufHamza Yusuf Hanson is an Islamic scholar of the Sunni tradition, and co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, United States. He is an American convert to Islam, and is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders,...
- Muslim convert and co-founder of Zaytuna College - Michael WolfeMichael WolfeMichael Wolfe is an American poet, author, and the President and Executive Producer of . He is also a frequent lecturer on Islamic issues at universities across the United States including Harvard, Georgetown, Stanford, SUNY Buffalo, and Princeton...
- Muslim convert and author of The Hadj - Jameel Johnson - Muslim Congressional Staffer
- Kevin James - Muslim convert, Chief Fire Marshall from New York City Fire DepartmentNew York City Fire DepartmentThe New York City Fire Department or the Fire Department of the City of New York has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York City's five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, technical rescue as well as providing first response...
- Najah Bazzy - Muslim Nurse
- Abdullah El-Amin - Local Imam
- Anwar al-AwlakiAnwar al-AwlakiAnwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
- Scholar, former Chaplain at George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, former Imam in California and Washington D.C
Funding
Funding for Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet has been provided by the Corporation for Public BroadcastingCorporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private foundation that provides grants to not-for-profit organizations. It was created in 1964 by David Packard and his wife Lucile Salter Packard. Following David Packard's death in 1996, the Foundation became the beneficiary of part of his estate...
, Arabian Bulk Trade, Sabadia Family Foundation, Irfan Kathwari Foundation, El-Hibri Foundation, Qureishi Family Trust, and many individual contributors.
Broadcast
Muhammad was originally broadcast nationwide on December 18, 2002 on PBS and has since been rebroadcast on well over 600 individual PBS stations. The United States of America (U.S.) viewership is estimated to be over 10 million. The documentary received worldwide broadcast in many languages on National Geographic International in December 2003 and many other countries.Community
The film is used in thousands of communities, schools, universities, religious congregations, and civic organizations throughout the United States to increase Americans' understanding of Muslims and Islam. Guides to facilitate discussions of the film's themes are available through the 20,000 Dialogues project and the Islam Project. The DVD of the film was re-issued in 2011 and includes the dialogue guide and lesson plans for teachers to use the film in the classroom.See also
- Depictions of MuhammadDepictions of MuhammadThe permissibility of depictions of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, has long been a concern in the history of Islam. Oral and written descriptions are readily accepted by all traditions of Islam, but there is disagreement about visual depictions....
- List of films about Muhammad
- Muhammad in Islam
- IslamophobiaIslamophobiaIslamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
- Alex KronemerAlex KronemerAlexander Kronemer the co-executive producer of Unity Productions Foundation. He is also a writer, lecturer and documentary producer focusing on religious diversity, Islam and cross-cultural understanding....
- Michael WolfeMichael WolfeMichael Wolfe is an American poet, author, and the President and Executive Producer of . He is also a frequent lecturer on Islamic issues at universities across the United States including Harvard, Georgetown, Stanford, SUNY Buffalo, and Princeton...