Journey with us now to the bizarre world of Middle Eastern soap operas, won’t you?

Today, courtesy of MEMRI TV, we have clips from a show titled “Stories from Before the Verses Came Down.” Produced in Jordan and aired on Saudi Arabia’s Iqra TV in February 2005, this soap opera chronicles the schemes of the Elders of Zion as they plot to destroy Muhammad.

Today’s episode is a freakish blend of voodoo and antisemitism, along with a bit of classic blood libel, as the evil Jewish sorcerers (wearing gigantic Star of David medallions and laughing maniacally, to help identify them) conspire to get rid of the upstart Muhammad by stealing some of his hair with the help of a Jewish servant boy, making a voodoo doll out of dough (we never see the doll because representations of Muhammad are forbidden), and piercing it with eleven needles.

Yes, really.

Kinana: Here is the comb with Muhammad’s lock of hair. We kept it safe. This box contains the statue in the shape of Muhammad.

Labid: Well done. Well done, Jews. Now you’ve fallen into our hands, Muhammad. Now that you are in the hands of the Jews, we shall see whether there’s a god protecting you.

Kinana: What are you going to do, holy man?

Labid: What will I do? You will see what I’ll do. Muhammad will regret the day his mother gave birth to him.

Huyay: Can a Muslim fall into the hands of Jews and survive?!

Kinana: You don’t have to teach us who we are, uncle.

Labid: This is what I have in store for him. These are eleven needles. This needle goes into his heart.

Huyay: Ouch! You hurt me in the heart!