Chance for the West to learn

Those involved with Kingdom of Heaven hope the film will help to repair damage done to the image of Arabs and Muslims

Arabs starring in a new Hollywood blockbuster set in the Crusades say it will enhance Western understanding of the Muslim world, rather than reinforce old stereotypes, as some had feared.

Syria's Ghassan Massoud, who plays the Muslim leader Saladin in Kingdom of Heaven, which also stars Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons, says it will also show the United States the benefits of diplomacy over war in resolving Middle East crises.

The film, by Gladiator director Ridley Scott, depicts a 12th-century Muslim-Christian battle for Jerusalem in the Third Crusade.

"Saladin fights battles, but he also enters into dialogue. We want to show that dialogue can be much better than war," Massoud said.

"Today, America has overwhelming force but it is as if they don't want to build a dialogue," he said.

The film is being tipped as one of the northern summer's biggest movie releases and has a budget estimated around US$130 million ($181 million).

Some religious figures and academics are concerned that a film about the Crusades, a term once used by United States President George W. Bush to describe the war on terror, will fuel the idea of an intractable clash of civilisations between East and West.

They say it could fuel animosity toward Islam in the West, and heighten suspicions of the West in the Muslim world, where the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan have been portrayed by some as part of a war on Islam.

But Massoud and Egyptian actor Khaled el-Nabawy, who plays the part of a Muslim religious leader, said the film would improve Western understanding of the Arab and Islamic world.

"We have Christians who think this movie is pro-Muslim and Muslims who think that this movie is pro-Christian. It will make both go and see the movie, which is positive for improving understanding," Nabawy said.

"It is time for the West to know more about us," he said. "When you don't know me, you're going to judge me in a bad way, which is risky," he said. "We are not terrorists. We are very civilised and our history is a witness to this."

Massoud said Saladin, a Kurd who recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187, would be presented as a warrior, but also a proponent of peace and dialogue.

"Ridley Scott respects the character of Saladin very much. He wants to portray him as a noble and respectable person," he said.

Massoud hoped the film would help to repair some of the damage done to the image of Arabs and Muslims by what he sees as unfair Western media coverage of the Islamic world after the September 11, 2001, attacks on US cities, blamed on Islamic militants. "One film isn't enough. But it might affect some sections of opinion," he said.

The movie, filmed in Morocco and Spain, is expected out next month.

Nabawy said some Arabs were concerned it would be biased against Muslims because it was produced by a US firm, Twentieth Century Fox. But those worries were misplaced.

"Ridley and screenwriter William Monahan made great efforts to have an objective and balanced script.

"They were discussing everything together until the last day of shooting."

- REUTERS