August 22, 2009

Comic creator aims to counter jihadist role models ...

... but then again, he is a Hamas supporter and has said “There is no escaping the everyday reality of the intifada.” How nice.

They are fighting for truth, justice and the Islamic way and are heading for your living room — prepare to say salaam to the world’s first Muslim superheroes.

The 99, a Sharia-compliant version of the X-Men ... has taken the Arab world by storm and has its sights set on the West.

The franchise, which was created as a cartoon strip three years ago to counter the effects of jihadist agitprop on Muslim minds, is poised to make its debut on British television this year. An animated series is being produced by Endemol, the Dutch company that made Big Brother internationally ubiquitous. Its mission: to instill old-fashioned Islamic values in Christian, Jewish and atheist children.

The story follows a group of preternaturally gifted Muslims: The 99, each with a superpower that mirrors one of the 99 attributes of Allah.

[Creator Dr.] Naif al-Mutawa said that the idea came to him while he was riding in a black cab in London from Edgware Road to Harrods, but its seed was sown years before when he worked at the survivors of political torture unit in Bellevue Hospital, New York. Many of the young men he treated were Iraqis who had fled after being tortured under Saddam Hussein’s regime.

“It hit me that the stories I was hearing were from men who grew up believing that their leader, Saddam, was a hero, a role model — only to one day be tortured by him,” Dr al-Mutawa said. “I decided the Arab world needed better role models.”

Better role models? You mean ... like freakin' Hamas??
The book’s creator, a Hamas supporter who had sold 40,000 albums and 12 million stickers in four months, brushed off accusations that he was inciting hatred, saying: “There is no escaping the everyday reality of the intifada.”
Wonder how that support coincides with this:
Despite its Islamic basis Dr al-Mutawa said that The 99 has universal appeal. He said: “It is based on attributes such as generosity and mercy. These are not things that Islam has a monopoly over.”
That's for sure. And they're not things that groups like Hamas possess period.

Avi Green over at Four Color Media Monitor has more here and here.

2 comments:

Soapfiction said...

Uh, Hube? I'm wondering if you read the article correctly. Dr. al-Mutawa is not the Hamas supporter. That would be the creator of the sticker book "The Intifada Album" that he came across. Here's how the article goes:

The conviction was reinforced by children’s literature that was circulating in the Middle East. When Dr al-Mutawa visited potential financial backers he took a newspaper article that described the popularity in Nablus, a city under the rule of the Palestinian National Authority, of a sticker book known as the Intifada Album.

It depicted weeping Palestinian mothers, Israeli tanks and wounded children. Captions included: “Let me die a martyr, my glorious homeland is calling.”

The book’s creator, a Hamas supporter who had sold 40,000 albums and 12 million stickers in four months, brushed off accusations that he was inciting hatred, saying: “There is no escaping the everyday reality of the intifada.”

Dr al-Mutawa, a father of five boys, disagreed. “This is not what I envisage for my children,” he said."


So, you see, the creator of The 99 is as anti-jihady as you or me, and wants to pull muslim children away from the intifada. And, judging by his comments of the intifada sticker book, he dislikes Hamas. I'm not accusing you of deliberately taking this out of context; we all make mistakes. I just wanted to bring it to your attention, lest this person get a bad rep. Peace.

Hube said...

Indeed you are correct. Thank you for pointing that out, and I regret not seeing your comment a lot earlier. And, of course, I regret the error.