A comic about truth, justice, and the Islamic way

The year was 1258. Mongol leader Hulegu Khan had invaded Baghdad – a city that was then a pinnacle of civilization and learning. Legend has it that the attackers set their sights on Baghdad's crown jewel, the Dar al-Hikma library, tossing thousands of manuscripts to a watery doom in the Tigris River.

Fortunately, cunning librarians spirited to safety the precious Noor Stones: 99 gems containing the library's ancient wisdom. The stones remained hidden in the Muslim kingdom of Granada until 1492, when King Ferdinand's Spanish army destroyed the mosque housing the gems. The Noor Stones were scattered around the globe, lost for centuries.

Sound melodramatic? Kind of like the plot of a comic book? It is.

Since October, youngsters throughout the Middle East have been discovering the legend of the Noor Stones in a new monthly comic book called "The 99." The series is inspired by Islamic culture and history – the title refers to the 99 names and traits attributed to God in the Koran – and aims to spread a universal message of teamwork along with plenty of action, adventure, and "kapow!"

The idea was Naif al-Mutawa's, a Kuwaiti psychologist who saw a need for culturally relevant heroes while treating torture survivors from Arab countries, including Iraq, from 1998-2001.

"I felt that we just didn't have heroes in this part of the world," says Mr. al-Mutawa, referring to the Middle East. "And I really wanted to create them."

What started as a cliché "sketch on the back of a napkin" soon evolved into meetings with former executives of Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Rolling Stone magazine. By the summer of 2004, the project was backed with $6.8 million from 54 investors in eight countries.

Al-Mutawa sought characters that would resonate with both cultures he grew up with: Western and Middle Eastern. The result? Muslim superheroes hailing from every pocket of the earth who – in their quest to recover the lost wisdom of the Noor Stones – also manage to clobber stereotypes.

Among the 99 heroes is Noora, a spoiled Emirati college student who finds a Noor Stone while escaping ransom seekers, triggering in her an uncanny ability to see the truth in others. There's Jabbar, a teen from Saudi Arabia, who grows to Hulk-like size and strength after a Noor Stone is accidentally lodged in his body during an explosion. And Hidayeh, a Pakistani-British girl with a brain like a GPS device, who can map and find anything instantly. Bari is a 15-year-old South African boy who finds a stone while digging and suddenly commands superhuman healing powers.

In light of international uproar in 2005 over Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, a comic book about Muslim superheroes is sensitive terrain. The 99 is currently banned in Saudi Arabia, for example, because religious censors allege it attempts to give a face to God – something Islam absolutely prohibits.

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