This new Muhammad film does not emerge out of thin air. As Majidi himself has noted, the film purposefully skirts these sectarian debates over the life of the Prophet in order to present a positive and united presentation of Muhammad to international movie audiences. Sunni and Shi'i debates over the life of the Prophet tend to revolve around the events of his adulthood, especially whether he appointed 'Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, as his rightful successor. However, such divergences do not appear to be based on sectarian grounds, as the movie covers Muhammad's childhood until the age of 12. This latest disagreement over filmic portrayals of Muhammad reveals ongoing anxieties regarding visual representations of the Prophet in the Islamic world. Although the Prophet's facial features are camouflaged through light and shade strategies, the Sunni clerics at al-Azhar in Cairo nevertheless attempted to halt its release so that 'an undistorted image of the Prophet can be preserved in the minds of Muslims.' Well before its release, the film was the subject of criticism due to the physical presence of Muhammad on screen.

Directed by Majid Majidi, the biopic's cost has exceeded $30 million, making it the most expensive Iranian movie shot to date. A new film about the Prophet Muhammad is slotted to have its debut this Sunday at the Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran.

Film nabi muhammad the messenger