I understand the need and right of academia to perform critical examination of religion, but this seems a pretty quixotic agenda. It seems like he’s more intoxicated with his own status as academic freethinker than performing any serious academic inquiry. There’s far more evidence for Mohammed’s SAW existence than there was for Jesus AS.

*astaghfirullah.

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In 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery came to Prophet Muhammed and requested his protection. He responded by granting them a charter of rights, which I reproduce below in its entirety. St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is the world’s oldest monastery. It possesses a huge collection of Christian manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, and is a world heritage site. It also boasts the oldest collection of Christian icons. It is a treasure house of Christian history that has remained safe for 1400 years under Muslim protection.

The Promise to St. Catherine:

“This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.

Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses.

Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.

No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).”

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Two years ago a group of fantasy role-playing geeks pondered the question of whether the prophet (pbuh) could be written into a role-playing Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

Some version of this question may have occurred to more people than you might think, since D&D is the best-selling, most-popular of all these games ever, with an estimate of over 20 million people having played at one time in their life or another. Many D&D campaigns are written into historical settings and then deviate in fantasy. Naturally the conversation is hyperbolic, addled and error-prone for lack of knowledge, but illuminating from a Dawah standpoint, especially since the participants are trying to do the right thing and not be offensive. I think it’s interesting that one person’s response to thin-skinned, hair-trigger outrage is to conclude that the only way to avoid trouble with Muslims is “to forget that Mohamed even exists and NEVER even utter his name.” There goes your Dawah opportunity.

Here’s the initial question:

If I set the campaign at a time when Mohammed were alive, and I gave him in game stats, would that constitute a “depiction” of him? Further, if I were to put a miniature representing him on the battlemap, would that also be a depiction of him for the purposes of someone blowing my house up?

qnr (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-15-07 12:13 PM
Probably. I wonder what constitutes a depiction for the miniature. If you

did an arbitrary geometrical shape and called it Mohammed, would that be insulting?
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thefool_wa (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-15-07 06:25 PM
I think so…

Because you are implying that Mohamed is a basic geometric shape and therefore trivializing him.

That was a little toungue in cheek, but, in all honesty, the people we are talking about (radical, fundamentalist Muslims – not the whole of Islam for sure) are the type who go LOOKING for a reason to be violently angry, so I may not be far off the mark. The only way to be sure, if you are from the west, is to forget that Mohamed even exists and NEVER even utter his name.
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Bucky (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-15-07 12:18 PM
I assume he’s a paladin class character. Strength 16, Intelligence 18, Charisma 20

If you use miniatures, I’m sure there would be quite a few D&D purists who’d blow up your house as well.
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thefool_wa (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-15-07 06:21 PM
Where did he get +2 charisma?

Is he carrying a magic item or does he get a special dispensation for being a Divine Prophet?
(I played basic D&D, max stat score was 3d6 or 18)
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northzax (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-15-07 08:50 PM
um, the whole ‘Prophet of God’ thing?

that’s not good enough for a litte bonus Charisma? come on.
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NewJeffCT (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-15-07 08:51 PM
In 3E, and 3.5

You can increase 1 ability score by 1 point every 4 levels. So, you can have a human with a 20 CHA at 8th level if they increased it by 1 at 4th level and 1 more at 8th level.
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thefool_wa (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-15-07 01:39 PM
the levels of geekdom never cease to amaze me

And I a m totally willing to participate in said geekdom:

I think as long as you kept it to a character sheet and did not include a picture you are fine. You can write about and describe mohamed (by my understanding) just not draw or paint pictures of him.

It is possible I am wrong.
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Kutjara (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-15-07 01:46 PM
Salman Rushdie’s book “The Satanic Verses” didn’t have any pictures…

…but the “depiction” of the Prophet landed the author with a Fatwa. Muslim purists are very sensitive about any attempt to “embody” Mohammed, pictorally, orally or in writing.
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thefool_wa (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-15-07 01:53 PM
hmmmmmm

I don’t think ALL muslims are this sensitive – it seems to only be those who hate the west that take this stance. I have never seen such outrage from western muslims.

However, after a little consideration – the portrayal of Mohamed within the game may count.

The whole thing doesn’t make sense to me though. If you are forbidden from portraying him orally, then how is it possible to pass on his teachings? One cannot understand a prophet’s teaching without also understanding the prophet, and that requires the portrayal or description of his character orally. Which, it would seem, is a violation of their law. Its self defeating and contradictory.
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Kutjara (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-15-07 02:25 PM
You’re right, not all Muslims take that view…

…which is why I was careful to write “purists.” There are degrees of Muslim observance, just as there are degrees of Christian observance. At the extremes of both religions lie the freaky dangerous people you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley.

Mohammed’s teachings are different from a portrayal of the Prophet. The teachings are meant to be taught (within a narrow range of “acceptable” interpretations established by leading imams). Mohammed’s life and actions can be discussed, again within narrow bounds, as a means of understanding his teachings better. Depicting the Prophet in a fictionalized account, or making a representation of him an actor in something as “trivial” as an RPG [role-playing game], would definitely fall under the heading of “idolatry.”

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