Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr has urged Saudi-owned MBC Group not to broadcast a TV series scheduled to run during Ramadan, which depicts the life of Umayyad caliph Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan.
Muawiyah is reportedly the most expensive Arab TV drama series in history at a cost of $75 million.
“Broadcasting such series is contrary to the new, moderate policies pursued by the brotherly country of Saudi Arabia,” Mr Al Sadr wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening.
“There is no need to hurt the feelings of your Muslim brothers in the east and west of the earth.”
MBC Group is the biggest broadcaster in the Middle East and North Africa. The show marks the directorial TV debut of Palestinian-Egyptian director Tariq Al Arian and is scripted by journalist Khaled Salah.
Production began in July in the Tunisian city of Hammamet with other scenes filmed in Kairouan, also in Tunisia.
The character of Muawiyah is played by Syrian actor Loujain Ismail, after veteran Palestinian artist Ali Suleiman withdrew from the role.
Actresses attached to project include Asma Jalal, Aisha bin Ahmed and Jamila Chihi, playing Muawiyah's wives. Jordanian actor Iyad Nassar portrays Imam Ali bin Abi Talib.
The Umayyad Caliphate ruled a large part of what is now the Middle East from 660 to 750 and was ruled under the first caliph Muawiyah. His son Yazid bin Muawiyah ruled as the second Umayyad caliph — the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussein, protested against his caliphate.
Shiites mark Ashura annually to mourn the death of Imam Hussein bin Ali, who was killed in a battle outside Karbala in modern-day Iraq in 680 AD by Yazid bin Muawiyah's army.
Although MBC has yet to respond publicly to Mr Sadr’s statements, MBC Media Solutions (MMS), the commercial arm of MBC Group, announced the company’s highly anticipated Ramadan 2023 line-up this week in Riyadh and Dubai.
“We all know by now the impact and reach of Ramadan and we are proud of our role as MMS in enabling brands to be a part of this special season’s stories and narratives year on year,” said MMS chief executive Ahmed Al Sahhaf in Riyadh.
Shows focusing on early Islamic figures following the Umayyad and Rashidun dynasties have been dramatised for TV in the past. Directed by the late and influential Syrian filmmaker Hatem Ali, MBC broadcast Saqr Quraish in 2002, tracing the rise and fall of the 7th and 8th-century Umayyad dynasty.
In 2012, MBC produced and broadcast the pan-Arab production Farouk Omar based on the life of Omar ibn Al Khattab, the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Salem Rashid, Mohammed Al Attas, Alhassan Saleh
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Yahya Nader, Ahmed Barman, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Saturday's results
Women's third round
- 14-Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) beat Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 6-2, 6-2
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1
- 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4. 6-0
- Coco Vandeweghe (USA) beat Alison Riske (USA) 6-2, 6-4
- 9-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat 19-Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
- Petra Martic (Croatia) beat Zarina Diyas (Kazakhstan) 7-6, 6-1
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1
- 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4, 6-0
Men's third round
- 13-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) beat Dudi Sela (Israel) 6-1, 6-1 -- retired
- Sam Queery (United States) beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
- 6-Milos Raonic (Canada) beat 25-Albert Ramos (Spain) 7-6, 6-4, 7-5
- 10-Alexander Zverev (Germany) beat Sebastian Ofner (Austria) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
- 11-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat David Ferrer (Spain) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
- Adrian Mannarino (France) beat 15-Gael Monfils (France) 7-6, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
