‘Bilal: A New Breed of Hero’ – The Reviews are In and Muslims are Pretty Divided

A Poor Representation of Islamic History – Aliya Husain

In my humble opinion, if teaching your kids, the accurate history of our faith is critical, this isn’t the movie to watch with them when they are young and impressionable. It has the potential to terribly confuse children and uninformed individuals as a lot of artistic license was taken. Some can handle that, but I personally have very little tolerance for inaccuracies in our historical depictions.

However, if you’re just looking for entertainment value peppered with some Islamic history, then this may work for you.

Think “Prince of Egypt” – great cartoon, but historically inaccurate according to Muslim history.

They show Abu Bakr RA, Hamzah RA and Ali RA, in addition to Bilal RA. If you’re not comfortable with depictions, this isn’t the movie for you.

The violence drags on. I understand it was a turbulent time, but so much time was spent on warfare and the preparation for battle that it did not do justice to the dramatic social shifts that were brought on by our faith – for example, the elevation of the status of women, the freeing of slaves, etc. Not that social justice themes were not evident through the film, but more so that they were incomplete as they weren’t defined by the theological shifts that demanded them.

My greatest concerns were twofold:

1. The story of our Sahaba in early Makkah was centered around tawhid. Yet, there was hardly any mention of that at all. Instead this became about equality of all men, which is a great theme and relevant to our current times, but historically speaking it was about the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ

2. There was no mention of our Nabi ﷺ at all. This was very disturbing to me as this defines the very essence of our aqeedah. Bilal RA was an incredible human being who was beloved to our Nabi ﷺ . But this relationship is never discussed or referred to. You don’t have to show him ﷺ, but how can one look at that time and not even mention him ﷺ?

And finally, we don’t get to hear what Bilal RA is best known for at any point. Nor do we watch how it evolved and changed the lives of every Muslim from then till the end of time.

And, that was a travesty.

All that being said – it’s a great cartoon for its entertainment value and solid animation. If you want a “hero” figure for your kids in an animated film without indulging in historical accuracy, this film could work for you. Finally, where were the Muslim women in this story? Let’s not even go there …

Next: Black Men as Heroes