Documentary maker Zahir Ahmed Captures the Glory of Islam
Anayat Durrani profiles the Los Angeles-based director of videos on the history and religion of Islam
April 1, 2001

It was a visit to Istanbul, Turkey back in 1985 that set Zahir Ahmed on the creative path to producing documentary videos on Islam and its vast history. His visit to the grave of Abu Ayub Ansari, a companion to Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) inspired him to create his first video.

“When the Prophet migrated to Madinah, he stayed in Ayub's home as a guest for a month until he built his mosque. It is this visit of mine which inspired me to make a video about the great companion,” says Ahmed, who is originally from Bangalore, India and is currently living in the Los Angeles area.

Since then Ahmed embarked on a journey to Muslim lands to document Islamic history and propagate Islam through his documentaries. As writer, researcher and director of these videos his work has taken him to Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Palestine, India and several Islamic cities. “In my opinion, this is one of the best ways of providing knowledge about Islam to the general public,” says Ahmed.

Ahmed established Islamic Video Productions in 1986 and his videos have since been in wide circulation in the United States and throughout the world. In many countries his videos are broadcast on local channels, shown in Islamic schools, and even prisons in the United States.

“I would say that mostly the topics are selected through inspirations,” says Ahmed, who cites his film "Preservation of the Holy Qur’an,” as one such example. It describes the process and methodology adopted by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) and his companions, which led to the preservation of the last revelation.

One of his most popular videos is the “Dome of the Rock” which covers the Islamic history of Jerusalem to the creation of the state of Israel, the differences between the major monotheistic faiths, and the significance of several religious monuments. “My Islamic consultant Mr. Muhammad Aryan who is from Palestine enlightened me with the subject of Al Aqsa mosque. He took me to Jerusalem where I shot all the scenes of Al Aqsa Mosque, Hebron, the Jewish Wailing wall, the Holy Sepulcher of Christians. We went through the entire Islamic history of Jerusalem.” Ahmed says the video has been in great demand since the day it was released.

His personal favorite is “Spanish Muslims” a film about the Muslim rule of Spain, which lasted 750 years. The video is also one of his most popular videos and is regularly shown in Mexico City to the local population. Ahmed spent two years researching the video and visited Spain twice and also Morocco to trace the glorious history of Spanish Muslims. In the video he explores Islamic history in towns like Cordoba, Seville, Madrid, Toledo, Gibraltar. The video shows the great mosque of Cordoba, the Alhambra Palace, the [Geralda Tower] minaret of Seville, the market places and the oldest Islamic university in the city of Fez.

“The thing which attracted me towards the Muslim Spanish civilization since my childhood was the Spanish music. I fell in love with the Flamenco Gypsy music. In it were the sounds of a great and brilliant civilization of Spain. Later I found out these were sounds of the Muslim Spain whose Arabic and European mix brought the most enchanting music.” Ahmed selects all the background music for his videos himself and says he chooses music that fits the feelings of a particular scene.

Since the videos have been in circulation, Ahmed says he has never received any criticism about their content. Perhaps it is because Ahmed goes through a very thorough process in creating each documentary. He works with a team of experts on the subject to ensure that each video contains authentic information and is no way misleading. Script writing takes several months and is reviewed by experts in the field of religion, history and other subjects he is covering. English narrators who speak perfect English are also carefully selected and voice recordings are done in a professional studio. Ahmed selects every scene and every word spoken in each of his films.

“Giving the most authentic information is an issue of prime importance to me. Before I write the script I select the expert scholar on the subject. The baseline in my writing is the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad [P.B.U.H.]. The script is further reviewed by other suitable scholars. I believe that our video films offer the best and the most accurate information on the subject.”

His video “Timeless time,” is the only film in the world about time dimensions and the Islamic view on time. Ahmed’s background as an aerospace scientist and engineer brings professional experience to his “Qur’an and Space Science” film. A Yale graduate, Ahmed has worked on the Man Landing on the Moon and other space projects and has received NASA and Hughes Achievement Awards for excellence. His “Qur’an and Space Science” video contains actual space footage that NASA took during their space missions and covers the co-relation between the Ayas from the Holy Qur'an and modern space scientific discoveries and theories.

Other videos Ahmed has produced include “Islam in India,” a two part series on Muslim contributions to Indian society; “Muhammad, the Last Messenger;” and “Economics Order” on the Islamic economic system. Ahmed's newest documentary is called “The Last Day,” a video about life after death, the last day of the earth and the universe, the eternal life, and paradise and hell. This video and others can be found on Ahmed's website.