"The Message" as a documentary movie has engaged the viewer with its plot throughout the three hours that it lasts. It can be claimed that film has succeeded in most of the aspects. The actor's performance is very convincing and portrayed the characters fully. The representation of scenes is very realistic and conveys information about the culture of that time. The major aspect as factual consistency was at the highest level as the historical facts and their continuity is well-organized and gives the viewer sufficient ground on understanding the pre-Islamic Arabic Peninsula and the rise of new religion along with the empires and states thereafter. "The Message," tells us the story of early Mecca where Prophet Muhammed receives his first revelations from Gabriel and calls upon the pagan public to follow God. In this review, I would like to demonstrate that the illustration of Kaaba and wholly Mecca in the movie can be seen through the prism of Eliade's sacred place.
Let us refer to the importance of Kaaba and examine the pre-Islamic period Kaaba's significance that was portrayed in the film. The polytheistic worship that was illustrated included all types of Gods from all parts of the world which were worshipped during the annual pilgrimage. In the movie, one can see how the various totems were symbolically collected in the Kaaba and diverse rituals were performed in front of it to show the paganistic nature. People who commit the pilgrimage are depicted as very devoted in the process of worship. Historically these diversified influences are constituted to the commerce from the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Eastern Africa, and Byzantine Empire (The Origins of Islam lecture). Such diversified waves were very beneficial for the local rulers of the Quraysh tribe who had major control of commerce. The illustration of these local authorities in the film as mercantile people who took advantage of the Kaaba pilgrimage is consistent with the historical representation. It can be seen that the Quraysh tribe was against Muhammed's appeal as it menaced their authority. In the movie, they offered Muhammed social status and keys from Kaaba so that he would not spread his message of One God. So it can also be observed that the religious importance of Kaaba for Quraysh was not as strong as the economic advantage. Overall, before the spread of Islam Kaaba was depicted as a center of paganism which was beneficial for Quraysh.
Before examining the role of Kaaba after the spread of Islam, let us refer to some of the historical consistencies and parallels observed in the movie. Once Muhammed received revelations, he got some followers who were mostly his friends and close ones. The movie's explanation of the first Islam converters Khadija, Abu Talib, and Abu Bakr is consistent with Ibn- Ishaq's work of "The Life of Muhammed". This illustrates another major historical fact consistency among many. The popularization of Islam which Muhammed and his early followers missioned was a very chaotic process. The depicted battle for Kaaba implies the significant role of it for both polytheistic society which were predominant and the monotheistic group followed by Muhammed. These particular scenes of chaos represent the historically referred beginning of Jahaliyya (The Origins of Islam lecture). This Jahaliyya continues with all types of cruelty as murders, tortures, and mockeries of those who have joined Muhammed. As the persecuted group of Muslims left Mecca they appealed to the Christian Abassynian King who sheltered them from Quraysh. One can observe that the mercy and grace of the Christian King implies a shared belief in One God and an illustration of similar ideas between the two world religions. In the movie, there is a scene of a comparison of Prophet Muhammed with other Prophets and especially Jesus Christ which resembles the Apology of Patriarch Timothy of Baghdad before the Caliph Mahdi when the Caliph questions the Catholicus about the faith. A prominent parallel can be drawn between these two narratives. Abyssinian King's metaphor of "two rays" is similar to the Caliph's metaphor of "pearl". It might be that these contexts are indeed interchanged. These factual inferences can be observed and compared.
Let us now examine the Kaaba's significance for the Islam followers. Despite the peaceful environment of Medina and the first mosque that was built there, it was not as significant as Mecca. Mecca resembles the motherland for Muhammed and his early followers. Whereas the Kaaba in Mecca is the sacred place that reveals some fixed point, the central axis from which other continuation follows (Eliade 21). In the movie, one can see how the Muslim empire conquers Mecca, surrounds the Kaaba, and destructs all the idiolatry by symbolically setting a fixed point of a monotheistic sacred place which gave the latter continuation. As Eliade Mircea points out (22), the discovery of a fixed point is equivalent to the creation of the world. Hence the illustrated transformation of Kaaba gives the sense of a starting point and the rise of an Islamic world. Thus the Kaaba in Mecca represents a triumphal sacred place of pilgrimage which once conquered by Muhammed and his followers are proclaimed as a center of Islamic dominance.
To conclude, the film "The Message" not only embraces the critical periods of the emergence of Islam but also gives sufficient historical details for creating the full picture. Film as mentioned and illustrated before is historically consistent, and the delivery of these facts is quite remarkable. An underlying religious theory of sacred place that I have presented in this review is another food for thought. The movie illustrates the emergence and transformation of today's center of Islamic religion in a very commendable way. For a viewer who has little or no knowledge of Islam's emergence history, I would recommend the movie as a ground start. Personal rating for this film would be 10/10.
Let us refer to the importance of Kaaba and examine the pre-Islamic period Kaaba's significance that was portrayed in the film. The polytheistic worship that was illustrated included all types of Gods from all parts of the world which were worshipped during the annual pilgrimage. In the movie, one can see how the various totems were symbolically collected in the Kaaba and diverse rituals were performed in front of it to show the paganistic nature. People who commit the pilgrimage are depicted as very devoted in the process of worship. Historically these diversified influences are constituted to the commerce from the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Eastern Africa, and Byzantine Empire (The Origins of Islam lecture). Such diversified waves were very beneficial for the local rulers of the Quraysh tribe who had major control of commerce. The illustration of these local authorities in the film as mercantile people who took advantage of the Kaaba pilgrimage is consistent with the historical representation. It can be seen that the Quraysh tribe was against Muhammed's appeal as it menaced their authority. In the movie, they offered Muhammed social status and keys from Kaaba so that he would not spread his message of One God. So it can also be observed that the religious importance of Kaaba for Quraysh was not as strong as the economic advantage. Overall, before the spread of Islam Kaaba was depicted as a center of paganism which was beneficial for Quraysh.
Before examining the role of Kaaba after the spread of Islam, let us refer to some of the historical consistencies and parallels observed in the movie. Once Muhammed received revelations, he got some followers who were mostly his friends and close ones. The movie's explanation of the first Islam converters Khadija, Abu Talib, and Abu Bakr is consistent with Ibn- Ishaq's work of "The Life of Muhammed". This illustrates another major historical fact consistency among many. The popularization of Islam which Muhammed and his early followers missioned was a very chaotic process. The depicted battle for Kaaba implies the significant role of it for both polytheistic society which were predominant and the monotheistic group followed by Muhammed. These particular scenes of chaos represent the historically referred beginning of Jahaliyya (The Origins of Islam lecture). This Jahaliyya continues with all types of cruelty as murders, tortures, and mockeries of those who have joined Muhammed. As the persecuted group of Muslims left Mecca they appealed to the Christian Abassynian King who sheltered them from Quraysh. One can observe that the mercy and grace of the Christian King implies a shared belief in One God and an illustration of similar ideas between the two world religions. In the movie, there is a scene of a comparison of Prophet Muhammed with other Prophets and especially Jesus Christ which resembles the Apology of Patriarch Timothy of Baghdad before the Caliph Mahdi when the Caliph questions the Catholicus about the faith. A prominent parallel can be drawn between these two narratives. Abyssinian King's metaphor of "two rays" is similar to the Caliph's metaphor of "pearl". It might be that these contexts are indeed interchanged. These factual inferences can be observed and compared.
Let us now examine the Kaaba's significance for the Islam followers. Despite the peaceful environment of Medina and the first mosque that was built there, it was not as significant as Mecca. Mecca resembles the motherland for Muhammed and his early followers. Whereas the Kaaba in Mecca is the sacred place that reveals some fixed point, the central axis from which other continuation follows (Eliade 21). In the movie, one can see how the Muslim empire conquers Mecca, surrounds the Kaaba, and destructs all the idiolatry by symbolically setting a fixed point of a monotheistic sacred place which gave the latter continuation. As Eliade Mircea points out (22), the discovery of a fixed point is equivalent to the creation of the world. Hence the illustrated transformation of Kaaba gives the sense of a starting point and the rise of an Islamic world. Thus the Kaaba in Mecca represents a triumphal sacred place of pilgrimage which once conquered by Muhammed and his followers are proclaimed as a center of Islamic dominance.
To conclude, the film "The Message" not only embraces the critical periods of the emergence of Islam but also gives sufficient historical details for creating the full picture. Film as mentioned and illustrated before is historically consistent, and the delivery of these facts is quite remarkable. An underlying religious theory of sacred place that I have presented in this review is another food for thought. The movie illustrates the emergence and transformation of today's center of Islamic religion in a very commendable way. For a viewer who has little or no knowledge of Islam's emergence history, I would recommend the movie as a ground start. Personal rating for this film would be 10/10.