40 Years On, A Controversial Film On Islam's Origins Is Now A Classic; 4K restoration

https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/08/07/485234999/40-years-on-a-controversial-film-on-islams-origins-is-now-a-classic

But the filmmaker knew he faced critics. The script was vetted page by page by Islamic scholars in Cairo. The prophet's name was eventually removed from the original title — Mohammad, Messenger of God — and the film was renamed simply as The Message.

After filming was underway in Morocco, Saudi political pressure cost Akkad his expensive Moroccan sets and locations. So he moved filming to Libya, with the controversial support of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"My father was of one mind, that he was going to finish this film," says Malek Akkad. "And so where he could get assistance from, he did."

Controversy mounted. The Cairo scholars who had initially approved the shooting script withdrew their support and called the completed film, which was released in 1976, "an insult to Islam." More backlash followed and several countries banned the film.

In the U.S., things turned tragic. In 1977, members of the Hanafi movement, a militant black nationalist Muslim group, stormed several buildings in Washington, D.C., taking hostages and killing two during a three-day siege. The Hanafi demands included banning The Message, which they deemed sacrilegious.