Islam's First Superheroes Taking the World by Storm

Pow! Forbes names "The 99" as one of the top 20 pop culture trends sweeping the globe. Shazzam! "The 99" theme park opens. Kerboom! Endemol begins work on an animated television series featuring "The 99" superhero characters. Slam! "The 99" creator Dr. Naif al-Mutawa is described as one of the 500 most influential Muslims by Jordan's Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.

The seemingly unstoppable rise of "The 99," Mutawa's collection of comic-book superheroes, is littered with the kind of accolades that make rivals as green as, well, the Hulk.

On Thursday, the former clinical psychologist appeared at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Invited by the Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR), Mutawa spoke about the genesis of his supernatural creations.

It's no coincidence that CASAR issued the invite: funded by the Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, CASAR was founded alongside centers in numerous Arab and Western Universities after the calamity of September 11, 2001, to help bridge the cultural divide.

"The 99" similarly rose from the ashes of the World Trade Center attacks, and aims to produce comics that foster understanding between East and West.

"For me, the attackers were trying to take down Islam under the Twin Towers," he said of the September 11 attacks. "I had to fight back."

"The 99" claims to be the first group of superheroes born of an Islamic archetype. "American superheroes all spring from the Judeo-Christian-Greek back story," he said. "Superman, Batman, Spiderman -- like biblical prophets, they are all orphans. They all receive some kind of message from above. They all reject their power before deciding to use it for good."

Mutawa even made a convincing case that "Waterworld," the 1995 mega-flop starring Kevin Costner, is a retelling of the Book of Genesis.

"Hollywood does this again and again," said Mutawa. "But no-one had ever done this with the Koran."

"The 99" is a collection of youths from all over the world, each endowed with a special power, corresponding to one of the 99 attributes of Allah. An Indonesian character Toro Ridwan, for example, is known as "Fattah -- The Opener" for his ability to open portals that allow him to traverse time and space.

Dana Ibrahim is a wealthy Emirati teenager who transforms into "Noora -- The Light," with the ability to see the truth and make others see it too.

Other attributes bestowed on the group are generosity, strength, faithfulness, wisdom.

"These aren't the words that were used to describe Islam in (...)