Could you tell us a bit about yourself, and also about what inspired The 99?
Answer
Thanks! I am a Kuwaiti clinical psychologist by training, having worked with Kuwaiti prisoners of war from the Iraq War and then having worked in New York in the survivors of political torture program at Bellevue Hospital. Because I speak Arabic, my patients came out of the Arab World but there were people there from all over. After my doctorate, I got a Master's Degree in Business and decided to start a company with both social and financial premises so I started Teshkeel Media Group in 2004 after creating The 99 concept.
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Host
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Profession
Question
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Answer
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Name
Khalid
- South Africa
Profession
Question
I think the idea of muslim superheros is brilliant. How do i get in contact with brother Naif al-Mutawa and where can I purchase the comic series in South Africa??
Answer
Thank you!
My email is naif@teshkeel.com
We are not available in South Africa yet, but we are working on it.
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Nora
- United States
Profession
Question
Salams. I took a quick look through some of your website (I hadn't heard of this new comic series before). I noticed that none of the female figures wear hijab. Did I just happen to overlook the ones that do?
Thanks
Answer
Hi there. Some will wear the Hijab. The idea is that of The 99 heroes, almost half will be female and of them around 9-10 will wear the hijjab in 10 different ways. One will show wisps of hair like they do in the UAE, one will show half her hair like they do in some parts of Iran and Pakistan-the idea being to show a cross section of people-not just one sect.
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Maggie
- Egypt
Profession
Book Promotor
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I just wanted to ask: Do you think that creating a 'Muslim comic book' - hence, something visual - can promote Islam and the Muslim world better, in terms of creating further understanding of our (misunderstood) world in the eyes of the west/non-muslim world, through images? The 'image', afterall, is the universal language, and is worth a thousand words as the saying goes. Was this your intention when you decided to create 'the 99'?
Answer
Yes, that was my intention of using a pictorial medium. But the audience for this is not only the West, it is also for us, people in the Islamic World, to challenge others to go into our teachings and come up with inclusive concepts not sectarian adn exclusive ones.
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Basma
- Egypt
Profession
Question
Assalamu alaikum. Will these characters appear in Arabic as well? Don't Arab Muslims need superheroes?
Answer
They came out in Arabic first! Al-Ahram is our distributor in Egypt. Please feel free to contact Tarek Housni who heads up our Egyptian office. HIs email is tarek@teshkeel.com.
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Zeinab
- Egypt
Profession
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Where is the magazine being sold? In which countries? How do we find it?
Answer
It is in the MENA region. In Egypt, the distributor is Al-Ahram. You can contact Tarek Housni who is the head of our Cairo office for more detail. His email is tarek@teshkeel.com.
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Editor
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What is the most positive response you've received with regards to The 99? By contrast, what criticisms have you received?
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The positive responses have been almost unanimous and world wide. The 99 have made the cover of The Wall Street Journal and were feature in The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Time and Newsweek. But I have to say, the most positive one for me is my eldest son Hamad's enthusiam to want to know what happens next!
I had some criticisms from those who saw this as a Western plot and other who saw it as having a disguised Islamic agenda to those who thought it unIslamic. I am fortunate ot have attracted a sizeable investment from an Islamic Investment Bank whose Sharia Board has approved The 99 and that is the way that I chose to deal with the criticism.
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Your team that works on the series is pretty international. Was this intentional?
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Yes it was. I promised my investors that The 99 was not going to be another made in fifth world country production; it was going to be at the level of Spiderman. And so I went out finding artists who have worked on properties like Spiderman and Superman and X-Men-but some have roots in our culture. Dan is Armenian-American and Monica is Iranian-American.
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Muslim sister
- Germany
Profession
Question
Dear Dr. Al-Mutawa, salam alaykum. I appreciate your idea, but I heard some critics saying that our heroes should be the Prophets and the Sahabis, and we should work on teaching our children about their stories, instead of "inventing" other heroes. I think they have a point...What do you think about this critic?
Answer
I think that the Prophets and the Sahaba are great leaders and great examples of heroes. But they are not fictional heroes. They are real. And in a world where Spiderman and Superman and Pokemon are used as ambassadors for their respective cultures to the point of being on my children's pajamas...it is time for our own message and our own ambassadors that are fictional yet operate on what kids expect from heroes.
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Editor
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Interestingly enough, the character of Ramzi Ramez looks quite like you. Your comment?
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That's what I said but my team asssured me it was the glasses! I kept getting sketches that I was not happy with and finally we got a sketch of what Ramzi looks like now days before we had to get into production mode. The artist had never met me and the person that hired him swore there was no "let's make Ramzi look like Naif plot" so I have to believe him...but when I first wrote that character-I wrote him after myself. He was a Kuwaiti psychologist-now he is not Kuwaiti and not a psychologist-but they say write what you know and I know psychology!
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Tamer
- Jordan
Profession
Question
1-Do u want in the future to make the comic a TV series?
2-How you introduce Islam throught this comic?
3-I saw the characters and I saw uncovered girls and you know this is unacceptable in Islam. So how you introduce Islam and in the same time you are not presenting Islam ??
I like the idea alot and I hope it will go through Inshallah.
Answer
(1) Yes, we are talking to a company that is interested in animating the series.
(2) We don't introduce Islam. Basically, the knowledge in the books of Dar Al-Hikma that were thrown in the Tigris river in 1258 on the heels of the Mongol invasion were saved through 99 stones that were then spread all over the world. This leads to 99 heroes from 99 countries that join forces to fight evil. But there is no referene to Islam in the books.
(3) It [Not wearing head-cover] is unacceptable to some sects in Islam-and some interpretations of Islam. The 99 is meant to be a cross-section; so, of the 40 or so female heroes, 25% will cover their hair in 10 different ways. One will show half her hair like they do in some parts of Iran, one will show a wisp under her hijab like they do in the UAE. 20 will be children and ten will show their hair becasue there is nothing fundamentally unIslamic about showing hair as millions of Muslim women choose to express their identity in that way. I do not aim to judge in this series.
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Editor
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Could you tell us a little bit also about your children's book To Bounce, Or Not to Bounce. How do you relate it to The 99, in terms of the objectives you had, and also the themes of this story?
Answer
I wrote To Bounce or Not to Bounce as an angry reaction to someone who was fired from his job in Kuwait becasue he was Hindu. And what angered me further is that the person that fired him gave out leaflets in the lcoal community apologizing that had he known the person's religion he wouldn't have hired him to begin with. My reaction was what became To Bounce or Not to Bounce-a book I never intended for children but I won an award from UNESCO for children's literature and was labeled a children's writer!
That book was written 12 years ago-the aim is similar to The 99-to succeed you need diversity and tolerance of differences.
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Umm Mustafa
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Question
Salams. Why superheroes? Why not normal people who do good and change the world? Maybe fantasy figures give kids the idea that they themselves can't do anything because they are "normal."
Answer
I actually address that in many ways.
(1) The characters are real people with real problems that get their power from a stone.
(2) The stone triggers the power in them but it could in someone else-so there is an element of "I could be the one."
(3) Kids like Superheroes!
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Tamer
- Jordan
Profession
Question
i hope you will answer this
1-Do you want in the future to make it as a Tv series
2-How you introduce Islam throught this comic
3-I saw the character and i saw an uncovered girls and you know this is unacceptable is Islam So how you inroduce islam and in the same time you are not presenting islam ??
I like the idea alot and i hope it will go through Inshallah
Answer
(1) Yes, we are working on finding the right partner for this.
(2) We don't. We keep away from religion. It is based on an Islamic archetype.
(3) Of the girl heroes-20 are children-10 will wear the Hijab in 10 different ways and 10 will show their hair. It is important not to confuse Arab culture with Islam. There is nothing fundamentally unIslamic about showing hair. Of the ten that wil wear Hijab-they will wear them in 10 different ways. One will show half her hair like they do in parts of Iran and Pakistan, one will show wisps of hair like they do in the UAE. The idea is for it to be a cross section and not sectaria.
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Editor
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Rumor has it that the idea of The 99 struck you during a conversation in
a London cab. Can you tell us more about that conversation?
Answer
Sure. That is exactly what happened. My sister, who is an artist, reminded me of a conversation that I would go back to writing after school. I told her that I remember but for me to go back now (after three Master's Degrees and a PhD), it would have to have the potential of Pokemon. I said Pokemon-my next thought was that there had been a fatwa issued against Pokemon-my next thought was "My God! What has happened to Islam? And who are these people making these rules?!"...My next thought was of how disappointed Allah must be-my next thought was that Allah had 99 attributes-and by the end of that cab ride I had the beginnings of the idea...
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Editor
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Have you turned your attention to writing full-time, or are you into other projects as well?
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I teach at the Medical School at Kuwait University as well as run Teshkeel Media. I am actually not that involved in the writing anymore-I am the Editor- in-Chief and I wrote most of the character guides and the rules of The 99 universe-but we have 12 monthly titles so I have a LOT of reponsibilities!
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John
- United States
Profession
Question
What kinds of enemies will these heroes encounter? Are the enemies also superhuman, or are they just crazies who are plotting to destroy a city, or the world, or some such? Are you going to throw in some environmental issues too -- superheroes fighting major polluters, for example?
Answer
Great questions. The main enemy is not one of the Superheroes-it is an enemy of Ramzi who wants to use The 99 for his own greed and grandiose fantasies of world domination. Basically, The 99, just like religion can be used for good and for bad. We will definetely raise the profile of environmental issues.
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Moi
- United States
Profession
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Are these comics in Arabic or English or what? Are they being published in more than one language now? Where are they being marketed?
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Right now they are in Arabic and English in the MENA region. We plan to enter the US market in the Fall. You can keep updated by registering on www.the99.org.
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camilla
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Hi, Dr Al-Mutawa! How is it working with such a seasoned team of comic book industry veterans?
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It has been fantastic working with professionals!
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Bashir
- Nigeria
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Computer Engineer
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Assalam Alaikum respected scholars. Kindly intensify your efforts in educating muslims brothers and sisters on the standard of Decency in dressing and its important in Islam. It was undoubtedly being observed in most of the western countries the morality in dressing in failing factor most especially among young muslims.
Answer
Thank you for your comment. It is common for people to blur the boundary between being Arab and being Muslim. People can express their identities in a multitiude of ways and still be Muslim.
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Ismaeel
- South Africa
Profession
student
Question
Can you please explain by what you mean by superhero characters? Do you mean cartoon characters? Who would portray these characters? are they going to be the Sahaaba or Prophets? Jazakallah!
Answer
Hi. No, these will be fictional superheroes-no references to the Sahaba or the prophet. But the archetypes used and the architecture of the stories will be Islamic.
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Editor
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Do you have further writing projects and ideas currently? Will you, or have you ventured into other genres besides children's writing? What advice would you give to budding writers?
Answer
I am working on a novel based on The 99. My advice to budding writers is to write what you know and to go by this premise...the first draft you write for yourself-the second draft you write for other people. The best writer is one that reads.
I recommend two books about writing. Stephen King's Book "On Writing" and a book called "The Forest for the Trees."
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Ellie C
- United Kingdom
Profession
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Assalamu Alycom Brother,
Wow, the 99 is a very good idea?
but i have two questions, the first one is why did you choose this name in particular?
the second question, why didnt you make one of the female characters a hijabi girl, isn't this something we have to raise our Muslim kids upon?
W Salaam
Answer
Salam. Thanks for the support! I chose this name in particular because of Asma Allah Al-Husna. The 99 characters are from 99 countries with 99 differnet powers.
Some of the characters will wear the Hijab in a variety of ways based on the plurality inherent in Islamic Culture.
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CK
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It's a scary world we live in, where Palestinian children take suicide bombers for models. It's also scary that if there is a cartoon about a Muslim - like the one in the Danish newspaper - it is usually about a suicide bomber again. In such times, your production is a welcome change in perspective, especially since it uses the same media - cartoons. It seems this is your objective too.
My question is, do you think this is enough to reverse the damage that has already been done? What else can and should be done?
Answer
As in any relationship, one cannot undo the past-one can only create a better future. I am hopeful that our effort will spur others to come out of the woodwork and create art and voice messages that are reasonable and moderate and that choose to include rather than exclude.
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Editor
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Are you actually going to present all the 99 characters eventually? It has been said that only 70 will be presented.
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That was before I found various lists of The 99! I thought there was only one when in fact there is not. So we will have more than 70-not sure if we'll have all 99 as some attributes are only possessed by Allah whereas other humans can possess if not in the absolute form (like generosity and wisdom, etc...)
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Editor
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You hold Master's Degrees in English Literature, Business, and Psychology and also a Ph.D. in Psychology. Am I right?
How has your experience as a psychologist informed your writing?
Answer
No, My Master's Degrees are in Organizational Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Business. My PhD is in Clinical Psychology (English LIterature was one of my undergraduate majors.) Psychology informs all parts of life and in writing it helps with creating the back story of the characters-their inner conflicts-how would they react in various situations, etc...
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Marwa
- Egypt
Profession
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I was wondering as a fellow writer and someone who has attempted to pitch a similar idea to a television network -- how hard was it to get this cartoon produced? Did it take a lot of convincing? And what element did your cartoon have that convinced your producers to go for it?
Answer
I raised money from 54 investors in 8 countries (including Egypt) for my company. I decided to go for the comic book format becasue it is less expensive than creating animation. Once it was successful it attracted attention from companies to finance the animation independently. We have not concluded a deal for the televised produciton of The 99 yet-it is a long process.
The 99 is created using top tier talent. Further -its themes are universal since I choose to focus on elements of our culture that are shared by humanity. Also, The 99 is one of the best recognized brands in the world-even before we created the series!
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Salah
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What are the upcoming characters going to be?
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We haev Fatah from Indonesia, Widad from the Phillipines and I will be announcing the Jordanian character and the Egyptian characters soon-so stay tuned!
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This session has come to an end.
We would like to thank Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa for speaking to Islamonline viewers today, (and answering many questions!)and we also thank all those who participated in this dialogue. We apologize for not being able to accommodate any further questions. We request our readers to join us in the upcoming sessions.
Yours,
IslamOnline.net Art & Culture Desk
Answer
Thank you. For more info please visit http://www.the99.org/.
