A documentary on Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, the Kuwaiti psychologist who created The 99 comic books is going to premier in the States on PBS next Thursday October 13th. This is the description of the documentary taken from the Wham! Bam! Islam! website:
WHAM! BAM! ISLAM! tells the story of Naif Al-Mutawa and his venture to create the first team of superheroes from the Muslim world called THE 99. Following the tumultuous journey of THE 99 from concept to reality, from acclaim to censure by Islam’s cultural gatekeepers, from the edge of bankruptcy to plans for theme parks and an animation series, Al-Mutawa dodges cultural minefields and tries to tackle the harsh realities of the global marketplace while doggedly pursuing his vision to bring new heroes to Muslim children while re-introducing Islam to the West.
I’m not sure if the documentary will be available to download after the release or if it will even be available as a stream online. Once I find out how we can watch it I’ll update this post with more information. For now, here is the link to the Wham! Bam! Islam! website [Link]
22 replies on “Wham! Bam! Islam!”
Such a talent & determination should be always be appreciated.
Great job Dr. Naif
That is something I wanted to see a long time ago. I hope it does great. Thats awesome stuff
cant wait to see The 99/JLA crossover mini-series they say that there is going to be six issues, i hope when it shows up we can get some over here, that would be an amazing collectors item.
He’s actually going to be talking at the Envision Arabia Summit this weekend in Montreal, organized by the – now huge – Arab Development Initiative, a student run organisation at McGill University. I encourage anyone who’s going to be in Canada to attend!
PS many ADI members grew up in Kuwait
WHAM! BAM! ISLAM!
I’m not sure they appreciate the irony of that.
Haha
PBS programming is usually available on iTunes if you have logged in at the US store, I’d start by looking for it there after it airs.
mmmmm ooooo ahhhhhh…..mmmmm…not sure-it’s all a bit evangelical Billy Graham Southern Baptist-ish…..wham! bam! islam! Hey Sister and halleluja!
Inspirational.
Is this or real? Wham, bam, thank you mam?
I think Dr must’ve failed psychology or sthg, otherwise he would have heard of this naughty phrase before naming a religious comic like this. lol seriously?
Such ignorance. I hope God helps you open your mind.
That phrase originates from WHAM BAM SLAM which is the sound effect bubbles cartoons used to have (also TV shows, remember the old batman)
Also, the comic isn’t called wham bam islam. The documentary is called that. Do your research and stop judging based on zilch.
Wham Bham is something quick and sudden, and if you add “thank you maam” then it becomes a sexual reference. well anyways good for him but hardly “inspirational” for my taste
And they said that out of the 50 women in this comic book, only 1 wears a hijab… what are they trying to say or suggest?
uhhh no. If you actually follow the comic not all of the heroes are announced yet. And two of the women right now wear hijab. Each hero is different and is trying to show that people with different backgrounds can unite to defeat evil and teach kids moral lessons.
Yes they have different backgrounds, but they are all suppose to be muslims according to the author. That is why the main theme is Islam.
@PFunk- EXACTLY what I was thinking too……end of a famous David Bowie song…..
@N19- it’s not ignorance- it’s knowledge actually- and if this comic is aimed at US English speakers, well then unfortunately the first thing many WILL think of is ‘Wham bam thank you ma’am’, it’s not about cleaning minds, it’s language…..
Okay I see we’re judging things from titles now. People have been making ironic/funny titles for books/movies/etc for ages. There is no conspiracy about this. I don’t know how you can think of sex when you read the title wham! bam! islam! I certainly did not. I guess people these days have really unclean minds and quickly think of anything to be sexual. Seriously, grow up and look at what this guy is trying to do for not just westerners but our own kids, who grow up seeing all these crazy terrorist running around in the name of “islam”. Our muslim kids need role models.
Haters are gonna hate but I know for sure that this comic has reached millions of hearts and millions have applauded Dr Naif’s efforts. Open your minds.
@N19
No need to grow up .
Yes he’s doing a great job but he has chosen an unfortunate title to go with ‘Islam’.
It doesn’t show an ‘unclean mind’ – it simply shows that you have heard the term ‘wham baam thank you maam’ more than once in your life- in songs, TV jokes etc.
Re ‘opening minds’- perhaps this is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black……get off your high horse and go and look up the term ‘idiom’.
+100