A comic about truth, justice, and the Islamic way
Muslim superheroes populate a new comic book designed to entertain – and serve a serious purpose
from the April 25, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
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.
But al-Mutawa doesn't see The 99 as a comic about Islam so much as a culturally relevant way to inspire youth in a part of the world that doesn't get much positive press.
"I'm not a man of religion, I'm a man of culture," says al-Mutawa, himself a Muslim who lives in Kuwait with his wife and sons and travels abroad frequently on business. "God's main attributes – generosity, strength, wisdom, foresight, mercy – what culture in the world doesn't see those as positive?" he asks.
Clerics from Kuwait to Malaysia have given The 99 their blessing. A significant chunk of financing – $18 million – will come from an Islamic investment bank in Bahrain whose sharia board recently gave The 99 thumbs up for complying with the tenets of Islam. The investment is more than what most new comic book companies garner.
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