A senior figure from Egypt's highest religious authority has reportedly urged viewers to avoid watching the new Ramadan series Muawiya by Saudi broadcaster MBC, citing its sensitive subject matter and portrayal of key religious figures.
Speaking to Egyptian outlet Masry Al Youm, Abdel Fattah Abdel Ghani Al Awari, a member of Al Azhar's Senior Scholars Authority, stated that the portrayal of the title character – Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, a scribe of the Quran during the time of the Prophet Mohammed and later the first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty – is religiously unacceptable. He cited numerous rulings prohibiting the depiction of revered figures in Islamic tradition.
Al Azhar has yet to publish an official fatwa declaring its formal position regarding the series.
Muawiya’s sensitive subject matter – detailing the schism within the early Muslim community after Caliph Uthman ibn Affan’s assassination, which led to Muawiya establishing the Umayyad state – has also sparked controversy in Iraq.
Authorities banned the show, citing fears of “sectarian disputes” and threats to “social peace”. The Communications and Media Commission ordered affiliate channel MBC Iraq, which airs the series nightly, to comply or face legal action. MBC has yet to issue an official statement on the ruling or respond to a request for comment from The National. Muawiya remains available on its streaming platform, Shahid.
Egyptian screenwriter Khaled Salah took to Facebook on March 2 to defend the series. While not mentioning the Iraqi ban or comments from Al Awari, his lengthy post described the show as more than just a depiction of the political struggles of that period.
“Our story in this series is not about a man who sought power for power’s sake, nor about a figure predestined to win or lose,” he said. “It is the journey of a man who learnt how to manoeuvre with the wind, who knew that confronting the storm with stubborn defiance leads only to ruin, and who mastered the art of sailing, aware that the sea bows only to those who understand its tides.
“This is why Muawiya is, in essence, a profoundly dramatic figure – not a leader who resolved matters solely by the sword, but a strategist who calculated every step and understood that, in the end, time itself is the shrewdest player.”
Mazen Hayek, a media consultant in Dubai and former official representative for MBC, predicts the controversy will only boost the show's ratings. He cites a similar response to MBC’s 2012 Ramadan hit Omar, a biographical series about the Prophet Mohammed's companion Omar ibn Al-Khattab, portrayed by Syrian actor Samer Ismail.
“Religious fatwas and bans tend to drive TV show ratings, not the other way around,” he says. “There are plenty of precedents for this in the region and across various genres – from the Turkish soap opera Noor in 2008, which was described by religious clerics as ‘subversive’ and ‘un-Islamic,’ to the brilliant Saudi comedy series Tash Ma Tash, which frequently faced calls for bans and boycotts. Yet, these shows remain popular years later, proving that such an approach doesn’t work.”
Hayek, who was often the public face of MBC during the airing of Omar and Black Crows – the 2017 pan-Arab series about life under ISIS, which was taken off air during its Ramadan run – said that during his tenure, the broadcaster was careful in the crafting its content. “The goal is never to inflame sectarian tensions but to create engaging, thought-provoking content while preserving societal norms,” he states.
He also sees Muawiya as part of a growing global trend in historical dramas, where past events are reinterpreted in bold and thought-provoking ways.
“The backlash against Muawiya will not slow this trend. Telling our own stories, both to the Middle East region and the world, is always better than being mere recipients of narratives shaped by others.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
