By Ayub Muhammad Khan, IOL Chicago correspondent

CHICAGO, December 18 (IslamOnline) - Even as most media critics around the U.S. praise the documentary on Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), scheduled to be aired on PBS Wednesday, December 18, controversial pro-Israeli commentator Daniel Pipes has launched a scathing attack on it.

In an article published Tuesday, December 17, in the conservative webzine Human Events Pipes accuses the documentary of not being critical enough.

Pipes, who is the director of Middle East Forum, claimed that the film treats Muslim religious beliefs as historical facts and ignores “an ongoing scholarly reassessment of Muhammad’s life.”

“Its patronizing film might be fine for an Islamic Sunday school class but not for a national audience.”

He also calls for a public-interest lawsuit on behalf of taxpayers against the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) “both to address this week’s travesty and to win an injunction against any possible repetitions.”

It should be noted here that apart from CPB, the documentary has received the funding from several foundations and about 4,000 individuals. 

“The donors include the Arabian Bulk Trading Ltd., the El-Hibri Foundation, the Sabadia Family Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Irfan Kathwari Foundation and  the Qureishi Family trust.

Pipes, who has a history of making anti-Islamic comments is also the author of a recently published book titled Militant Islam Reaches America, in which he repeats his rhetoric against the Muslims.

Notwithstanding Pipes’ remarks, the documentary “Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet” has received wide acclaim from most newspapers in the country.

Calling it an “enlightening documentary,” Dave Mason of Scripps Howard News Service writes that it is a “well-researched reminder that Islam is about peace, love and the acceptance of other people’s beliefs-the same tenets as those in Christianity and Judaism.”

In the Washington Post, Caryle Murphy writes that while it is not perfect the documentary is an “enjoyable and informative film about a man who did indeed change the world.”