Mufti Praises Historical Drama

Syria Media Report, 07-Feb-08

Friday, 8 February, 2008

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Mufti Praises Historical Drama

Syria Media Report, 07-Feb-08

On February 5, Syria's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, honoured the cast of a Syrian TV series for portraying a positive image of Islamic civilisation, the SANA news agency reported.

Saqf al-Alam or “Roof of the World”, directed by Najdat Anzour and written by Hassan Youssef, recounts the journey of tenth-century diplomat, traveller and writer Ahmad ibn Fadlan to northern Europe. [Ed: although Ibn Fadlan mainly journeyed through what is now Russia and Central Asia, this account has him in Scandinavia.]

The series was broadcast during the holy month of Ramadan last year, and was designed to show the true values of Islamic culture and the Prophet Muhammad, and deliver a rebuff to the offensive cartoons published in a Danish newspaper in 2005.

The Mufti underlined the importance of the film series, and urged actors to work towards conveying the true image and tolerance of Islam through the arts.

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