Al-Manar TV
PA cleric against Hezbollah TV's 'Joseph the Righteous'
Hezbollah TV station airs program on Josef prompting strong objection from PA's chief Islamic judge, who says displaying images of prophets, angels harms Muslin religion
Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, chief Islamic judge in the Palestinian Authority, slammed Hezbollah television
station Al-Manar for broadcasting a program on Joseph, the son of Jacob. Tamimi called for a ban on the program, titled "Joseph the Righteous."
The Islamic judge said that it is prohibited to show characters of prophets or angels since it constitutes a major compromise of the Muslim religion and faith. He referred to characters from the program on Joseph, his father Jacob and the angel Gabriel.
According to Tamimi, God chose his prophets and wrapped them in a shell meant to prevent any harm done to them by the devil or by humans. "I believe their images must be removed from any endeavor which may harm them," he said.
Tamimi further added that images of angels are foreign to humans. "Their sight is limited only to Allah and he did not describe them to us in the Koran.
"The sanctity of the prophets requires us to respect them because faith in them is at the core of any religion, and therefore displaying their images hurts their status and harms their idyllic form," he explained.
"Any display of their images would not stay true to reality and any attempt to embody them is to cause them injustice and is a lie, and that is prohibited and will lead to a compromise of our saints and holy places," the Islamic judge said.
