The Marvel of Islam: Reconciling Muslim Epistemologies through a New Islamic Origin Saga in Naif al-Mutawa’s The 99 James Clements Richard Gauvain The American University in Dubai Abstract: Since its inception in 2006, Islam’s most popular comic strip, The 99, and its creator, Naif al-Mutawa, have both been the subject of much media scrutiny. Despite es- chewing references to the most significant texts, figures, and symbols of Islam—readers of the comic find no mention of the Qur’an or the Prophet—neither its fiercest critics nor its most fervent supporters doubt the essentially Islamic nature of The 99. Drawing on the responses of students at the American University in Dubai (AUD), this paper explores how and why, within this modern Gulf setting, The 99 resonates as a profoundly Islamic publi- cation. Attention is paid, first, to The 99’s origin saga, through which Muslim history is smoothed over, then re-spun in ways familiar to our students; and, second, to a number of special editions of The 99, through which al-Mutawa offers a new understanding of Islam’s role—with remarkable implications for political leadership—in contemporary society, both Muslim and non-Muslim. Keywords: Islam, superheroes, The 99, Naif al-Mutawa, comic book, Muslim identity, Abbasid, Umayyad, Sufism, Gnosticism “I told the writers of the animation that only when Jewish kids think that THE 99 characters are Jewish, and Christian kids think they’re Christian, and Muslim kids think they’re Muslim, and Hindu kids think they’re Hindu, that I will consider my vision as having been fully executed.” —Naif al-Mutawa, “Naif’s Notes,” The 99, Issue 20. 1 “Being Muslim” and The 99 When asked to define what it is, precisely, that identifies them as members of a faith community, modern Muslims are likely to struggle in ways unanticipated by their predeces- sors. Outside observers from across the academic spectrum and in a variety of locations delve into the processes underpinning the ongoing “construction of Muslim identity.” 2 Not surpris- ingly, the construction of certain Muslim identities receives more attention than others: the reformist messages of Tariq Ramadan and Khaled Abu el-Fadl, for instance, capture the attention and sympathy of many Westerners, while political Islamists and Salafis, also very much engaged in reforming Islam according to their own criteria, exert a strong hold over analysts for different reasons. The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 26:1, Spring 2014 doi:10.3138/jrpc.26.1.36