TEHRAN -- An Islamic history expert said that the Syrian TV series “Al Hassan and Al Hussein” has been produced with the aim of subverting Shia beliefs.

“The production of the series gives a sign of activities by many with anti-Shia sentiments for the purgation of Muawiyah and the subversion of Shia beliefs,” Mohammad-Hossein Rajabi-Davani told the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency on Sunday.
Syrian filmmaker Abd al-Bari Abu al-Khair directed “Al Hassan and Al Hussein” with a budget of 3 million dollars, Arab news websites reported.
The ahistorical series show Imam Hassan (AS) and Imam Hussein (AS) in good relations with Muawiyah, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty of caliphs.
It has been scheduled to be broadcast in Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and several other Arab countries in the Persian Gulf during this Ramadan.
Popular actors from these countries are starring in this production.
“The series’ plot is formed based on the character of Abdullah ibn Saba’, an imaginary person who has been created by some Sunni sources that were hostile to Shia,” Rajabi-Davani said.
“Based on these fictions, Abdullah ibn Saba’ was a Yemeni Jew who converted to Islam during the last days of the Uthman ibn Affan’s rule and then became a follower of Imam Ali (AS).
“He traveled to major Muslim cities to malign Uthman (third caliph to rule after the death of the Prophet Muhammad AS) and provoked the people of Kufa, Basra and Egypt to riot against the caliph.
“The sources claimed that under Abdullah ibn Saba’s guidance, Imam Ali (AS) became caliph after the death of Uthman. They introduced him as the founder of Shiism.
“An in-depth study by Allama (Seyyed Morteza) Askari shows that Abdullah ibn Saba is an imaginary person who was created to subvert Shia,” Rajabi-Davani explained.
Al-Azhar University, world’s chief center of Islamic learning, has announced that it plans to sue the producers of the series for depiction of the family members of the Prophet Muhammad (S) and his sahaba (disciples).
An Al-Azhar law that was passed in the 1926 forbade the physical personification of the Prophet Muhammad (S), his family and the sahaba.