Dubai: When Dr Naif Al Mutawa created the first group of superheroes born of Islamic archetype, he didn’t know his comic book series, THE 99, was going to stir controversy all over the world.
But, what he knew was that he wanted to redefine the way Islam was being perceived by others and indirectly highlight the beauty of Islam to the rest of the world through his 99 characters.
Addressing a session at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai on Saturday, Dr Al Mutawa, who is a practising psychologist and a passionate writer, said that when the thought of re-inventing superheroes first occurred to him, he didn’t know it was going to be part of a comic book series in 2003, but was intrigued by the idea of tapping Islam through a comic book and delivering a message through a time where Islam was being wrongly portrayed in the media.
Through his comic book series, which was later turned into an animated film broadcast in over 70 countries due to its success, he sought to highlight the positive values that Islam shares with humanity and the importance of accepting people’s differences.
“THE 99 is based on the Quran’s 99 attributes of Allah, which include generosity, wisdom, mercy, foresight and a dozen others that were not used to describe Islam in the media,” he said. “It’s me, alone, as the only positive voice in a sea of negativity trying to highlight the beauty of Islam to everyone, but also standing here accused of trying to insult it.”
Al Mutawa said that his attempt to re-invent superheroes was intended to change the narrative but still keep the same language, and that he did not intend to create a new way of doing things 10 years ago when he thought about the idea, “but to have a message embodied within the language being used”.
Before launching his project, Al Mutawa said he had been a bit worried that it wouldn’t work out. It was important to him to raise enough money and find investors during that time. A couple of years later, his characters were able to inspire both Marvel and DC Comics to create Muslim superheroes.
Following a conversation between him and the head of DC Comics years ago, his characters teamed up with Batman and Superman in a six-issue crossover, he said.
“President Barack Obama had mentioned something about me in his speech praising the idea behind my work and then, following that, there was an explosion of controversy. People started saying that I was trying to brainwash their kids with those ‘Sharia Superheroes’ and that anyone who watches the show will become radical. Some people called me an apostate and a Zionist, and one of the cable networks refused to broadcast the film.”
Al Mutawa said he was also attacked by people within the region.
“Some think I did this for east-west conversation, but no, I did this for my children. I wanted to redefine Islam for them because I feel like it’s being taught wrong in some places. Islam was the front and centre in this even if it was not mentioned in the series.”
The seventh edition of the Emirates Airline Literature Festival, which hosted over 120 of the world’s top authors, concluded on March 7 at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City.
