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Latest news from Qatar
New movie spares the Kaaba from destruction
"When I interviewed director Roland Emmerich a few months ago about his upcoming disaster flick "2012," the first question I asked was, "Why do you like killing the world?" His response: "It makes for a good story."
Over the past fifteen years, Emmerich has crafted some great tales about global doom, featuring some spectacular scenes of destruction. He had aliens zap the White House in "Independence Day," he let a massive lizard flatten New York City in "Godzilla," and he sent killer tornadoes through downtown Los Angeles in "The Day After Tomorrow."
For "2012," Emmerich set his sites on destroying the some biggest landmarks around the world, from Rome to Rio. But there's one place that Emmerich wanted to demolish but didn't: the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure located in the center of Mecca. It's the focus of prayers and the site of the Hajj, the biggest, most important pilgrimage in Islam.
"Well, I wanted to do that, I have to admit," the filmmaker told scifiwire.com. "But my co-writer Harald [Kloser] said, 'I will not have a fatwa on my head because of a movie.' And he was right."
Emmerich went on: "We have to all, in the western world, think about this. You can actually let Christian symbols fall apart, but if you would do this with [an] Arab symbol, you would have ... a fatwa, and that sounds a little bit like what the state of this world is. So it's just something which I kind of didn't [think] was [an] important element, anyway, in the film, so I kind of left it out."
Read the full article >>
Traditionally, a fatwa has meant religious opinion by an Islamic scholar or imam. The term has gained currency in the West after Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death sentence in the form of a fatwa against British author Salman Rushdie for alleged blasphemies in his book "The Satanic Verses" in 1989. As a result, the Indian-born writer was forced into hiding for most of the '90s.
Emmerich has no qualms about wrecking other major landmarks, however. The massive dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican rolls on top of a crowd of churchgoers. The huge Christ the Redeemer statue that looms over Rio de Janeiro disintegrates. And, of course, the White House gets crushed when a wave drops the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy on top of it.
The director was also reportedly approached by people hoping to get their famous landmarks trashed, like Taiwan's Taipei 101, which is the tallest completed building in the world. There's no word yet if that structure will meet the same on-screen fate as the Vatican and the White House. "2012" opens nationwide on November 13."
What do you think? A prudent move or a stupid one?
Personally I think it's a sad day when artists feel compelled to bow to religious fanatics. They should have blown it up along with all the other landmarks. It's a movie for crying out loud...
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heero_yuy2 said
What?? Emmerich not interested in blowing up Burj Tower?? ...C'mon! Emmerich didn't blow up anything in the movies Stargate and The Thirteenth Floor. ;-P
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
salman-s said
I really dont see whats so ...I really dont see whats so "artistic" in blowing up ka'ba. i mean how many people think "when will the ka'ba scene come, I love that part!". obviously none. they have better things to destroy.
Amoud said
I hate the stereotype that ...I hate the stereotype that all things muslim are arab and vice versa.
I don't think it is bowing to religious fanatics, and I don't think only fanatics would agree that it may be offensive to see one of the holiest places in Islam blown up for entertainment, especially one that is the centerpoint of every single muslim prayer in the world.
If you argue that other religious groups don't get so upset that also isnt true. The Jewish faith is very serious about such things just as muslims are. Just because a group honors, respects and defends its religion doesnt automatically make it fanatical.
____________________________________________________
"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"
ummjake said
They're not fanatics for revering the place. ...They ARE fanatics for issuing fatwas calling for the death of people like Rushdie.
Would people (Muslims) be offended? Maybe. But art isn't about avoiding offending people.
What a bloody boring world this would be if we all had to walk around on eggshells, worried that someone was going to get their panties in a bunch because of something we said or did all the time.
I'm not advocating intentionally inciting people. But if the plan all along for this film was to show various recognizable landmarks across the globe being blown apart, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with them blowing the Kaaba to smithereens just as they did the other structures.
And it's not about there being some sort of special pleasure derived from blowing up the Kaaba. It's about treating everyone and everything fairly and equally.
This is exactly like the situation with the Danish cartoon controversy. I find it irritating because they're kowtowing to Muslims (under threat of having a fatwa on their head).
If people are offended when a movie uses special effects to blow up the Kaaba (or the Wailing Wall or the Vatican or anything else deemed special), then they don't have to spend QR35 for a ticket and see it.
Simple.
"Marriage is a wonderful institution...but who wants to live in an institution?" -- Groucho Marx
Amoud said
Ummjake I dont think it is ...Ummjake I dont think it is as simple as "like it or lump it". I am not a religious fanatic but was quite upset by the Danish cartoons, as I would be by a movie blowing up the Kabah.
By treating everyone "fair" would be by what standards? Islam is more than a religion to its followers and if you ask I am 100% sure that they wouldnt deem this as being treated fairly but rather find it a huge disrespect. Best part is, the "artists" in this case knew it.
I actually feel pretty sad that as a society we choose to give "art mediums" more respect and justification than we do to the words of God and their followers.
____________________________________________________
"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"
ummjake said
I know they wouldn't deem it as bring treated fairly. ...I guess I just am incredulous that people feel that they have a right (some might even call it a duty) to respond physically (by issuing a fatwa and calling for that person's death) to an insult.
For me art is freedom of speech, and I am strong believer in people having a right to express themselves -- whether it's Serrano's "Piss Christ" or the Danish cartoons or this film.
Religion is not (and never will be) universal. We all don't believe in the same God (or even that there is a God) -- and thus it is impossible to guarantee that certain topics will be 'off-limits'.
Why do people expect that they have a right to NOT have their sensibilities offended by others? Nobody is touching you or physically assaulting you; they're saying words and drawing pictures. Does that seriously harm you?
"Marriage is a wonderful institution...but who wants to live in an institution?" -- Groucho Marx
salman-s said
/-a-t-/ ummjake so if im .../-a-t-/ ummjake
so if im stabbing your mother/wife would you jst stand there and watch cuz im not touching or harming you physically ?
josephfanar said
MORE ABOUT KAABA ...HEY GUYS
Fanar is going to hold a great exhibition between 19-23 NOV.
I would we all should go. They are going to have a lot of exhibits including real like model of ka'ba.
I heard famous personalities like Danny Williams is also coming to participate in this expo. Danny Williams was the ex Boxing British Champion
FANAR EXPO
NOV 19- 23 2009. At Doha exhibition center.
Jo Naras said
Guys, Is this thread about ...Guys,
Is this thread about Movie or Religion?
I'm a moslem not irritated if Kaaba is destroyed in the movie for natural reason because since prophet Ibrahim Kaaba has been damaged and destructed several times in the past and rebuilt and rebuilt again since then...so why we are so annoyed....to all QL moslem please be cool...
The most important thing is the shooting should not be within the real Haaram.....
“The fool speaks, the wise man listens”
irf77 said
UmmJake, you seems christian ...UmmJake, you seems christian and probably don't mind for your viewing pleasure to let churches or other important religious symbols of Christianity gets destroyed,
However, I see that movie maker is sensible than you vs hurting the feelings of billion plus Muslims or provaking any unnecessary hate towards him.
No disrespect but i think the problem is if you think like this that it's ok to insult your religion, you have lost all sense of respect and think everybody else is also ok, which may not be the case all the time.
ALLAH HU AKBAR - GOD IS GREAT
leilany2 said
It's just a movie..if time ...It's just a movie..if time will come the world will come to an end "EVERYTHING WILL BE DESTROYED" including the "HOLIEST" places in the world nothing will be spared,everything's just man made... what will not be destroyed is the faith that lies in our hearts and mind...
MY RULES:
1.I AM ALWAYS RIGHT.
2.JUST IN CASE I’M WRONG SEE RULE NUMBER 1.
genesis said
who'll be going to the ...who'll be going to the premiere tonight at villagio's IMAX cinema?
genesis said
according to many Islamic ...according to many Islamic interpretation of end of days, the Kaaba will be destroyed
Nic said
as the world noticed by now, ...as the world noticed by now, some religious fanatics are hell on earth!
ummjake said
I was just going to add a comment that the movie sucked ...and my friends and I actually turned it off after about 45 min because the acting was SO BAD... (and then my friend called and said he downloaded the wrong version -- LOL!).
But I have to say I'm disappointed at a lot of the sentiments put on here. I would have hoped that I would have heard more comments like those from leilany 2 and Jo Naras -- 'they can break the Kaaba but not our faith', 'God is strong enough to defend himself' kind of things...
Salman-s: Let's work on your analogy a little bit. Nobody is knifing God. Newsflash: God isn't a flesh-and-blood person. He isn't physical and you can't kill him or hurt him.
A better analogy would be to say that someone said "your mother is stupid and ugly".
Would you issue a death threat on the person who said that?
I think most reasonable people would be pissed off, might tell the person to eff off, they'd think that person a huge, useless wanker, but I don't think they'd grab the nearest sharp object and impale the speaker for those 6 little words.
If God is so great then I think he can handle this without you guys threatening anybody that rolls their eyes at the mention of his name.
It's a MOVIE from Hollywood, land of make-believe.
The movie's premise is that a supernova destroys nearly everything on the planet. You see these flaming projectiles hurtling towards the earth, smashing into buildings and mountains....
Bearing THIS in mind, it doesn't seem likely that anything would escape destruction.
Which is why it seems perfectly reasonable, given THAT story line, for the film-makers to want to show worldwide destruction of things -- the Eiffel Tower, Sugarloaf Mountain, the White House, the Vatican, the Taj Mahal,....
Get the idea?
The damage is spread out over the various continents, affecting all nations and all people, indicating universal suffering from this catastrophic event.
Sigh...this region is certainly not (and probably never will be) a bastion of critical thinking and inquiry at this rate...
"If you're looking for sympathy, you'll find it between sh*t and syphilis in the dictionary."
- David Sedaris
Nic said
Ummjake, I am sure that you ...Ummjake,
I am sure that you know that it is impossible to discuss or joke about certain issues with certain people!
hapy said
May be Ronald doesn't know ...May be Ronald doesn't know that destruction of Kaaba has been predicted in the end of times prophecies of Islam.