Can a biography of the prophet of Islam, be told without controversy or cliches? It would appear not.

This month, just ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in August, state-run TV in Britain will show a three-part documentary, The Life of Muhammad, commissioned by its first Muslim head of BBC religion programming, Aaquil Ahmed, and narrated by Rageh Omar, a correspondent for Al-Jazeera English.

FOLLOW: Faith & Reason blog on Twitter

The Guardian religion writer, Riazat Butt, attended a preview yesterday of the program (touted as the "extraordinary story of a man who, in little more than 20 years, changed the world forever.")

She came away with the view that the controversies (jihad, women's rights, etc) and the cliches (prayer calls, women covered in traditional garb, camels) were abundant as well as the usual array of talking heads such as Karen Armstrong -- author of numerous books on numerous religions and a talking head in a PBS-shown documentary on Muhammad in 2002 (so much for claims the BBC leads the West in this).

Iran is already unhappy, claiming, The Guardian reports, "that the 'enemy' was attempting to 'ruin Muslims' sanctity'" although according to the BBC, The Life of Muhammad will respect the Islamic tradition and

... not depict any images of the face of Muhammad, or feature any dramatic reconstructions of Muhammad's life.

After seeing the first hour, Butt reports back with some digs not at the messenger of Islam but at the messenger of the documentary, Omar:

The opening episode deals with the circumstances and society that Muhammad was born into. It charts his childhood and early years - being orphaned, being taken in by his uncle - and the narrative is interspersed, interrupted I'd say, with shots of Rageh praying, Rageh brooding, Rageh climbing over rocks in a manful and foreign correspondent-like way. He makes the point - fairly emphatically -- that Muslims believe there is a difference between the message and the messenger and that is why there is "no shrine, no plaque to mark the place of his birth." Muslims are "following the messenger not worshiping him."

Wondering if PBS will import this? Or will it dust off the bio it showed in 2002, Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet? Maybe you can get a taste of both with a clip from Karen Armstrong from the PBS script:

Muhammad was a man who faced an absolutely hopeless situation. There was a whole continent virtually of people killing one another in an endless hopeless vendetta, going down a chute of violence and warfare. Feeling that society was coming to an end and had no hope. He gave them hope single-handedly. In a space of 23 years he brought peace and new hope to Arabia and a new beacon for the world.

Or maybe her thinking has changed?

ARE YOU curious about Mohammed (U.S.-favored spelling)? Can a biography of a prophet be understood apart from whatever his followers have wrought in later centuries?