Does islam permite acting in film and theatre - Essay Example

Acting is generally forbidden in Islam but is allowed for certain constructive purposes provided certain conditions are followed. The issue of acting being allowed or forbidden in Islam is a topic of great controversy among the scholars and interpreters of Islam. However there is complete consensus among all the various scholars about the type of acting which involves obscenity, interaction between men and women and other evil actions. All the scholars unanimously agree on the prohibition of this type of acting in Islam.

There is no dispute among the Islamic scholars as far as this kind of acting is concerned (Al-Munajjid 2009). The prohibition of this type of acting is clear from the saying of Sheikh Abu Bakr Zayed (may Allah preserve him) to the effect that chivalry (behaving properly and decently) happens to be an objective of sharee’ah, plus whatever undermines that makes a person unsuitable for giving statement in court. Islamic teachings stress upon lofty characteristics and prohibit base and low characteristics.

And as far as acting is concerned, actors are mostly seen by the viewers as performing ridiculous activities and moving and talking in a ridiculous way. They are yet seen as feigning madness. Thus it is proven beyond doubt that acting is among those things that seriously undermine chivalry. This further leads to the fact that acting is among those things which make a person unsuitable for giving testimony in the court of law. Such a thing cannot be approved of by Sharee’ah in any way. Now let us consider the type of acting about which there exists a controversy among the scholars of Islam.

Some forbid it completely while others allow it within certain guidelines of Sharee’ah. This controversial type of acting is one that involves two or more than two persons performing before a group, through actions and dialogue, with a purpose to teach the group about Islamic principles and injunctions, or