The 99 (Arabic: الـ ٩٩ al 99), also written as The Ninety-Nine (Arabic: التسعة وتسعون al-tisaa wa tisaun), is a comic book published by Teshkeel Comics, featuring a team of superheroes based on Islamic culture and religion. The series was a creation of Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, founder and CEO of Teshkeel Media Group. The creative team for The 99 was composed of comic book industry veterans such as Fabian Nicieza, Stuart Moore, June Brigman, Dan Panosian, John McCrea, Ron Wagner, Sean Parsons and Monica Kubina. Although the series is based on Islamic backgrounds, it was promoted as appealing to universal virtues, and the religion of each character is not made explicit. The character cast consists of Dr. Ramzi, a scholar and social activist, the 99 youngsters (some of them children), with special abilities conferred to them by Noor gemstones, and a set of evil characters led by the power-hungry Rughal, who seeks to steal the power of the Noor stones and their bearers for his personal benefit. Rughal was intended by the creators to be an analogue to Osama bin Laden, with his militant Islam and his dictatorial intentions. The storyline pits the 99 led by Dr. Ramzi in their pursuit of social justice and peace against the forces of chaos and evil. The first of five planned 99-based theme parks opened in Jahra, Kuwait in March 2009. An animated series has been produced and Teshkeel Comics signed a multimillion dollar deal with Endemol to produce the series (which was later banned by Kuwait). In a religious decree carried by Saudi websites, the clerics ruled the series blasphemous because the superheroes of its title are based on the 99 attributes ascribed to Allah in the Holy Quran. The Grand Mufti, Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, The head of the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas said The 99 is a work of the devil that should be condemned and forbidden in respect to Allahs names and attributes. The original comic strip version, first released in 2006, had already run into opposition from Muslims not only in Saudi Arabia but also in neighboring Kuwait, where it was created and produced by media executive Nayef al-Matawa. On July 2, 2014, The Kuwait Times reported that ISIL members had issued death threats and offered unspecified rewards for the assassination of Dr. Al-Mutawa, via Twitter. https://youtube/watch?v=SiYU3DZCepQ
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 18:55:04 +0000
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