So who will play Mohammed's nine year old wife?

I'm just wondering:

Producer Barrie Osborne cast Keanu Reeves as the messiah in The Matrix and helped defeat the dark lord Sauron in his record-breaking Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now the Oscar-winning American film-maker is set to embark on his most perilous quest to date: making a big-screen biopic of the prophet Muhammad.

Budgeted at around $150m (£91.5m), the film will chart Muhammad's life and examine his teachings. Osborne told Reuters that he envisages it as "an international epic production aimed at bridging cultures. The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam".

Osborne's production will reportedly feature English-speaking Muslim actors. It is backed by the Qatar-based production company Alnoor Holdings, who have installed the Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi to oversee all aspects of the shoot. In accordance with Islamic law, the prophet will not actually be depicted on screen.

"The film will shed light on the Prophet's life since before his birth to his death," Ahmed Abdullah Al-Mustafa, Alnoor's chairman, told al-Jazeera. "It will highlight the humanity of Prophet Muhammad."

Hmm... will Osborne cover Mohammed/Muhammad's relationship with A'isha?

Numerous people have said that Mohammed had sex with his youngest wife, ‘Aisha, daughter of Abu Bakr, when he was about 53 and she was only nine years old. Some Muslims deny that. If somebody were to claim Mohammed and ‘Aisha had sex when she was nine, and they were wrong, that would be a serious slander against Mohammed. On the other hand, if it were true, that would show a very different side of Mohammed that would shock many. So is this accusation against Mohammed true or false?

This paper will first give the evidence for A’isha being nine when her marriage was consummated, then raise 11 objections to this, and finally, ask what if each view were correct.

This is important to a widely practiced but overlooked practice today: child brides in Muslim lands due to Mohammed’s example.

In Iran as of June 2002 it is legal for a 9 year old girl to marry with her parents’ permission. Voices Behind the Veil p.136-137

In the Ivory Coast this book also tells of a 12 year old girl who would leave the house for hours before returning home. After her father tied her up, burned her back with a piece of iron, locked her up for three days with no food, he eventually married her of to a 40-year old man. He never sent her to school because he said that it would drive them from their tradition, they would start asking questions, and not want to marry until they are 19 or 20.

The Taliban encouraged families to marry off their daughters as young as eight years old. (Voices Behind the Veil p.110)

The Dallas Morning News 9/28/03 p.1,10S had a story about the sad plight of Muslim Nigerian girls who were married very young, got pregnant and had labor before their small bodies were ready. It was actually somewhat of a gross story, basically of many girls who needed C-sections but did not get them. Many survived, but could not have any children due to their perforated uteruses.

To understand the authoritative nature of the example of Mohammed, we have to understand something of the Muslim hadiths. They hold a higher place in Sunni Islam than church tradition does in the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Sunni Muslims hold to six collections of hadiths as the most authoritative writings in Islam after the Qur’an. The rest of this paper shows that the accusation is completely true, according to numerous corroborating early Muslims sources.

So.. it would seem that Osborne's attempt to accurately portray Mohammed in this film might land him in jail for making child pornography. 

I'm pretty sure he'll skip over this part of the prophet's life.

What say you?

Crossposted(*).

Comments

[tim aka The Godless Heathen]

Osborne told Reuters that he envisages it as "an international epic production aimed at bridging cultures. The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam".

When I ever I hear "true meaning of Islam" I instantly know it really won't be about anything like "the true meaning of Islam". More like “what we want to present as the true meaning of Islam because we know the truth isn’t so fantastic but we’ll keep trying to pull the wool over your because we’re not able to face the truth”.

Never before in the history of the world does one religion need so much defending. Now why is that? If Islam is so fantastic, so peaceful, wouldn’t it be obvious for everyone to see?

What other religion are its followers so quick to take the streets in angry protest, over the slightest perceived annoyance or slight.

What other religion do its followers become violent to “prove” that their religion is “peaceful”?

What other religion is so offended by their prophet’s image being depicted?

What other religion is so perpetually offended, period?

Take away ALL of the world’s problems currently involving predominantly Islamic countries or Muslims in general and what is left? Maybe not world peace but it’s a world I’d rather live in.

The more I learn about “the true meaning of Islam” the more I understand what motivates it’s followers to do all of the crap they do. “The true meaning of Islam” isn’t anything I want my family, friends or neighbors to be associated with. Any other religion yes, Islam no thanks.

[Locutisprime]

I say he is an infidel and should be put to death by the followers of the religion of peace for blasphemy.

But that's just me.

[Joe Muslim]

What a petty article! Who cares how old his wife was? The standards of 1500 years ago are not the same standards of today. Your definitions of child pornograpy are subjective, since your definition of "child" can change. At Disneyland, a child is ten or under. Ten and above pay full price. In desert Arabia, children become adults at the age of puberty, not at a number. Therefore, the age of adulthood would vary from person to person.

The whole infatuation with his wife's age is really an irrelevant issue. Yes, it's important to include her in a movie, because she was the most knowledgeable person when it came to the chain of narrations. She was nicknamed the "mother of the believers". She would give public lectures to men and women and answer questions from Muslims about jurisprudence. She is an important factor, but would not be needed to be included in a movie in order to transmit the message of Muhammad.

[Albert Woudenberg]

are they going to show the part where he was chased out of mecca as a nutjob only to return and slaughter the town before declaring it his holy city?

(might have been a different city)

[tim aka The Godless Heathen]

“The standards of 1500 years ago are not the same standards of today.”

While that may be true, Joe, somehow I don’t think it was the norm for 53 yr. old men to marry 9 yr. old girls even back then.

I especially like your typical Muslim way of totally ignoring the other relevant instances citing in the post/article -

In Iran as of June 2002 it is legal for a 9 year old girl to marry with her parents’ permission.”

In the Ivory Coast this book also tells of a 12 year old girl who would leave the house for hours before returning home. After her father tied her up, burned her back with a piece of iron, locked her up for three days with no food, he eventually married her of to a 40-year old man.

The Taliban encouraged families to marry off their daughters as young as eight years old.

The Dallas Morning News 9/28/03 p.1,10S had a story about the sad plight of Muslim Nigerian girls who were married very young, got pregnant and had labor before their small bodies were ready.

Yea, I can see why you wouldn’t want to talk about those Mr. Muslim.

[Bernie]

Hey Joe, YOUR MISGUIDED.

[James D]

Do you guys realise that you are arguing about something that may or may not have happened over 1,500 years ago. How sad really...all of you need to get a life.

Anyways, things were different even around 60 yrs ago. Elvis, 'the king', was going out with Priscilla when she was 14 and great Gerry Lee Lewis's youngest wife was just 13 yrs old. That was accepted half a century ago in United States.

http://www.kyleesplin.com/jllsb/jllsbdir/pages/46page.htm

[R Burton]

Yes those highly regarded religious leaders Elvis and Gerry Lee had illegal underage sex. Is that the best defence you can think of for your so-called prophet's behaviour?