“Dawn of Islam” .. an icon of Egyptian religious films

There were many religious films that were exposed to the emergence of Islam and the struggle and heroism of the Messenger, peace be upon him, with those who believed with him against the Quraysh, so that they could lay the foundations of the new religion, and this undoubtedly constituted a nightmare disturbing to the Quraysh. Their highest social class – the gent lemen’s class – where the new religion directed with a heavenly direction to an intellectual proposition different from what the people were in Makkah, in order to make people equal, so there is no preference for a master over a slave, or an Arab over a non-Arab.

Indeed, Quraish and the rest of the tribes lived in a terrible nightmare, so they tried everything they could to stop the flow of the new religion in all ways and methods, whether political or violent, bloody and brutal, but despite all this they were defeated and the victory was for Islam. Of course, fictional literature dealt with many events, weaving among them many Islamic epics that were transmitted by the small screen “television” and the big “cinema”.

Abdul Hamid Al-Sahar … between “The Message” and “The Dawn of Islam”

The cinema films that dealt with the emergence of Islam varied. The most important and mature of these films was “The Message” by Mustafa Al-Akkad, which was co-written by Abdul Hamid Judeh Al-Sahar and Tawfiq Al-Hakim. As for the second film, it is “Dawn of Islam” by Salah Abu Saif, and it is about the story of Abdul Hamid Judah Al-Sahar, and Salah Abu Saif also participated in writing the script and dialogue.

Of course, “Dawn of Islam” was ranked first among religious films. The film was produced in 1971, but of course it fell to second place in front of “The Message” for many reasons, the most important of which is the enormous production and universality of the film presented by Mustafa Al-Akkad in two copies; English, where the role of the hero – Hamza, the uncle of the Prophet, peace be upon him – was played by the world star Anthony Quinn, while the Arabic version played the same role, the Arab star Abdullah Ghaith. Of course, this constituted an element of dazzling and curiosity for Arab viewers everywhere.

“Dawn of Islam” … a distinguished experience and a negative evaluation

In any case, we will stop in this article at the film “Dawn of Islam” by Salah Abu Seif, which is produced by the Cinema Foundation, before closing its doors and the state lifts its hand from financing the cinema directly, through the production and distribution of films.

Despite the excellence of the experience in some aspects, and the production of a number of important and large films, the final evaluation of the experience was negative. However, this experience will be discussed later, as the Cinema Foundation began preparing for the film “Dawn of Islam”, and director Atef Salem had chosen the lead role of Suad Hosni and Nour Al-Sharif, and he actually began filming, but he stopped a month later because Atef Salem was injured in an accident that prevented him from continuing. The film establishment had to choose another director.

Indeed, the choice fell on Salah Abu Saif, who determined to start preparing for that film again, in order to complete what Atef Salem had started. Sessions were held with Abdul Hamid Judah Al-Sahar, which resulted in major adjustments to the script, and even replaced the main actors, Souad Hosni and Nour Al-Sharif, with the two new faces at the time. Najwa Ibrahim, who only appeared in the film “The Land” by Youssef Shaheen, and Abdel-Rahman Ali, a young man who was handsome at the time, and his face is familiar for his appearance as a presenter, and also as a commentator on religious programs on television.

Veteran actor Mahmoud Morsi and actress Al-Badiaa Najwa Ibrahim in one of the scenes of the film

Actors, screenplay and music .. Trilogy of Excellence

Salah Abu Saif supported the two new faces that he chose to star in his film with a constellation of senior actors, headed by veteran Mahmoud Morsi, Badiaa Samiha Ayoub, Yahya Shaheen, Ibrahim Abdel Razek, Aida Abdel Aziz and Ahmed Tawfiq. Thus, the film has two important factors: A group of senior actors, in addition to a soundtrack by Fouad Al Dhaheri, played an important role in distinguishing the film.

Of course, there is a distinction of scenes and clothes, but make-up was one of the weakest elements in the film. In religious films, the infidels had to be distinguished from the rest by thick beards and thick eyebrows, to the point of fanaticism and exaggeration, while the believers showed purity and purity from their faces, and of course the effect of cosmetic makeup on the face .

The film excelled thanks to the excellence of the scenario, and the events acquired many connotations. For example, the film’s story revolves around a young man who is the son of a gentleman from one of the tribes. This young man falls in love with a young slave woman, meaning that we are in front of Romeo and Juliet with relatively different connotations. And this event turns into a bigger event with the emergence of Islam, and the young man’s embrace of this new religion, which angered his father, the ruler of the tribe. The conflict is taking place on several different levels.