CULTURE-EGYPT: Political Furore over TV Serial

By Cam McGrath Reprint | | Print |

Cam McGrath

CAIRO, Nov 7 2002 (IPS) - Millions of Arab viewers tuned in Wednesday night, which marked the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, to watch the first episode of an Egyptian television series ‘Horseman without a Horse’, which Jewish groups say is anti-Semitic propaganda.

Millions of Arab viewers tuned in Wednesday night, which marked the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, to watch the first episode of an Egyptian television drama that Jewish groups say is anti-Semitic propaganda.

The series, ‘Horseman without a Horse’, tells the fictional story of an Egyptian man fighting British Imperialism in Palestine at the turn of the last century. He discovers a manifesto for Jewish world domination and tries to uncover the truth behind it.

The first instalment of the 41-part series was aired on a private Egyptian satellite channel, followed by a late-night broadcast on state-run television.

The controversy over the high-budget series has made international headlines. Jewish groups claim ‘Horseman without a Horse’ should be kept off the air. A top Israeli official said it represents “the worst form of hatred that exists.” U.S. officials have expressed concern over its “racist and untrue sources.”

Egypt is broadcasting the drama during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when television viewership is highest. Officials have rejected appeals to cancel the series.

“Prejudging a work of art, a dramatic series, before seeing the actual production is simply an immature, unintelligent attitude,” says Nabil Osman, head of the State Information Service.

Critics argue they do not need to watch the series. Their objections are based on reports that the storyline revolves around ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’, a century-old text dismissed long ago as a fabrication. The text is a plan for world domination allegedly concocted during a meeting by a cabal of Jews.

Scholars say the document was drawn up by Russian secret police during the reign of Czar Nicholas II as a pretext for persecution of Jews in Russia. It was later used by Hitler to incite anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany.

“Once again, the Arab media is demonising Israel and Jews, and no one is speaking out,” the New York-based Anti-Defamation League said in a statement. “Arab leaders must put a stop to programming that appeals to ignorance, hatred and anti-Semitism. It is unconscionable that Arab television has created an entire series of programming based on one of the most hateful documents in Jewish history.”

Producers of the Egyptian drama insist that ‘Horseman without a Horse’ is free of any anti-Semitic scenes and dialogue. “We used the book of the Elders of Zion at the dramatic level, but have not expressed any opinion about it,” says screenwriter Mohammed Baghdadi.

“We have no problems with Jews as a people or Judaism as a religion,” Baghdadi says. “What we are against is the racism of the Zionists and the building of (Jewish) settlements (in Palestinian territories).”

Many Arabs already believe in a Jewish conspiracy for world domination. Jewish groups fear the series will only reinforce this view, as many viewers may be unable to discern fact from fiction.

American officials have urged television producers to make this distinction more clear.

Egyptian actor Mohammed Sobhi, a veteran of film and stage, and an outspoken political activist, plays the lead role. Many of his roles have been in productions critical of the U.S. and Israel.

“I am the first one to say that the Protocols are fake,” Sobhi says. “The strange thing is that they (Israelis) read it, and like a game, they applied it.”

State-owned newspaper Al-Ahram urged Jewish groups to drop the furore over the television series and open their eyes to what is going on in their own backyard.

“Instead of raising hell over false controversies, they would do better turning an eye to Palestinian religious, human and social rights, which are being systematically violated every day by Israeli occupation forces,” it said.

A group of Egyptian youth watching the first episode of ‘Horseman without a Horse’ in a Cairo café said they would wait till the series is over before judging it. So far, they say they have seen nothing they could describe as anti-Semitic.

“The first episode depicts the harsh conditions and injustices Egyptians endured under Turkish rule,” said 24-year-old Hossam Saleh. “I don’t hear anyone calling it anti-Turkish.”