Muhammad : Legacy of a Prophet (video)

Excerpts from Press Releases:

Co-creator/producer Alex Kronemer says, "Many Muslims believe that if you want to understand who they are, the best place to start is with this story of Muhammad, because he established a model of behavior and values which Muslims strive to emulate today."

"Unlike Jesus or the Buddha, who seem to have been purely spiritual leaders with no temporal responsibilities whatever, Muhammad found himself now head of state," author Karen Armstrong points out.

"Muslims whose families have lived here for generations, and American converts like Kevin James, a Brooklyn fire marshal, who has a Jewish mother and a father who is Native American and African American. "America is a racial nation," says James. "Either you're Black, you're White, you're Italian, you're Jewish, you're this, you're that. So coming from a mixed background, I've felt like, kind of in limbo." After a period of spiritual seeking, James discovered a kinship with Islam, in part because it shares religious roots with both Judaism and Christianity and in part because it preaches racial equity."

"Although this documentary was well into production prior to 9/11, some of the American Muslim characters who help tell Muhammad's story were filmed after the attack. These sequences portray their reaction to this event, the aftermath they have experienced, and the controversial concept of jihad. Through a combination of commentary from Islamic experts and interviews with Muslim Americans, the program also addresses some of the difficult issues at the matrix of religious faith, cultural customs and Middle East politics, including women's rights and charges of anti-Semitism rooted in the historical conflicts of the 7th century."

U.S. Public Broadcasting to Show Documentary on Life of Muhammad
Community groups will hold discussions about Islam at time of broadcast

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) of the United States is planning to broadcast a two-hour documentary on the life of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, on December 18 and a day later rebroadcast a two-hour documentary on the diverse interpretations of Islam around the world, according to a PBS press release.

In a related step to promote dialogue about Islam, community based organizations around the United States are organizing group discussions based on the two documentaries, "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet," and "Muslims."

The documentary about Muhammad recounts the story of the prophet's life and also conveys what many American Muslims believe Islam teaches, and how their beliefs shape their lives, PBS said.

"The documentary takes viewers into the homes, mosques and workplaces of some of America's Muslims to discover the many ways in which they follow Muhammad's example and interpret his life and his message today," PBS said.

The documentary on the life of Muhammad was made by Unity Productions Foundation, a nonprofit production company whose mission is to develop balanced, fair and accurate journalistic material concerning the world's cultural and spiritual traditions in order to help increase understanding and tolerance, according to the press release.

Funding for Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet has been provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Arabian Bulk Trade, Sabadia Family Foundation, Irfan Kathwari Foundation, El-Hibri Foundation, Qureishi Family Trust, and many individual contributors.