The Message

Seventh-century Mecca. The city is run by the leading men of the Quraysh and the Kaaba is full of idols. Muhammad receives the first revelation and begins preaching openly three years later. What he calls for is belief in one God and the equality of slave and master, which is a direct threat to those who hold the city's order. Led by Abu Sufyan and Hind, the Meccan leadership hunts the Muslims, tortures them, and finally drives them out. What follows is Badr and Uhud, Medina, and the return to Mecca. The most important thing about the film is this: Muhammad is never shown and his voice is never heard. Those closest to him are kept off screen in the same way. The camera takes his point of view, and the people in front of him speak straight into the lens. Moustapha Akkad directed it, shot simultaneously with two casts, in Arabic and in English. Three hours and twenty-six minutes. Akkad was killed in a bombing in Amman in 2005.