Cairo Magazine - An interview with Khaled Nabawy

Khaled Nabawy as one of the film's prime villains, the unnamed Mullah.

Courtesy of Khaled Nabawy

Egyptian actor Khaled Nabawy plays the role of a mullah serving Salah Eddin in Kingdom of Heaven. Nabawy, who shot to fame after playing leading roles in Youssef Chahine’s Al Mohager (The Emigrant, 1994) and Al Massir (Destiny, 1997), appears regularly in Egyptian cinema and television production. But three-time Oscar winner Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven is the first major Hollywood production for the 39-year-old actor. He spoke to Cairo about his experience.

What was it like working on Kingdom of Heaven? How did you feel about tackling a topic as sensitive as the Crusades?

First of all, it’s a great experience working on a huge production with a very big director. It’s something colossal, another mentality. Sensitive or not, the topic is important. When I got the script, I saw it as fair, balanced and a great point of view. And I thought it was time for the movie.

Do you think the movie appealed to a certain audience more than another?

I think it will improve the understanding between both sides. I believe that we have Christians that believe that the movie is pro-Muslim. Simultaneously, I believe that some Muslims think it’s pro-Christian. But it’s not pro or against anything in my opinion. Either way, both audiences will go to watch the movie.

What did you think Kingdom of Heaven would achieve?

Dialogue. I think people should really start talking with, not at, each other. I said this in an interview I did with the Los Angeles Times. I told them that unfortunately we know more about you than you know about us. We know about the West more than they know us. When you don’t know me, you run the risk of misrepresenting me and it’s time for you to know about us. We’re not terrorists and we have a glorious history. It’s important to know that Bin Laden is not the only Muslim and he’s not the “essence” of Islam. It’s time to stop essentializing Islam. My role as the mullah is very much an example of this.

Did you think the movie makes an important point beyond religion?

In the Arab world, we’ve never called it the Crusades and never thought of it as a war between Muslims and Christians, but one between the Arabs and the Europeans. It was not religious. They call it a religious war, but we never called it that. The only reason we battled was to protect the land we were on. In fact the Muslim and the Christian Arabs battled together against the Europeans when they came to take over Jerusalem.