Cairo: A TV serial, dramatising the ups and downs in ties between iconic Egyptian leader Jamal Abdul Nasser and his army general Abdul Hakim Amer, has triggered massive controversy, with Nasser’s family accusing the show of distorting his image.
‘The Lifelong Friend’, being shown on several Egyptian TV stations, retraces relationship between Nasser and Amer since they were cadets in the military Academy in the early 1940s. Both were members of the Free Officers Movement that toppled the monarchy in Egypt in 1952. Nasser ruled Egypt for 16 years from 1954 while Amer commanded the Egyptian forces in several crucial wars including the 1956 Suez Canal battle and the 1967 Middle East Six-Day War.
Nasser, an advocate of Arab nationalism, is widely popular in Egypt and beyond almost 44 years after his death. He is portrayed in the serial by Syrian actor Jamal Sulaiman, who has been harshly accused of failing to properly depicting the late leader. Egyptian actor Bassem Samra plays Amer.
“Jamal Sulaiman’s accent as a Syrian has made it difficult for him to play the role well,” said entertainment critic Tareq Al Shenawi. “His portrayal of Abdul Nasser is not impressive.”
Nasser has been depicted in recent years in several TV and films works, with legendary Egyptian actor Ahmad Zaki winning plaudits for playing him in the immensely popular film ‘Nasser 56’ tackling the Suez Canal Crisis.
‘The Lifelong Friend’ is one of very few works that shed light on the turbulent life of Amer, who died in mysterious circumstances in September 1967 at the age of 46. He was found dead inside his Cairo house where he was kept under arrest. In the wake of Egypt’s 1967 military defeat by Israel, Amer was sent into retirement and his friendship with Nasser deteriorated.
At the time, the government said he had committed suicide, while some members of his family claimed he had been poisoned by regime agents.
Samy Sharaf, Nasser’s confidant, said in an article published this week in semi-official newspaper Al Ahram that ‘The Lifelong Friend’, has “falsified history in an unprecedented manner”. Sharaf, who served as Nasser’s secretary for information, cited what he said was a long list of inaccuracies about Nasser in the serial.
Meanwhile, lawyer Samir Sabry has filed a lawsuit demanding the drama be taken off the air, allegedly for tarnishing Nasser’s name and containing historical mistakes.
Producers of the serial have advocated their work. “We apologise for any historical blunder in the episodes although some dates are not a prime concern for the audience,” they said in a statement. “The aims of this work are to encourage the viewer to read about the history of his country and the art community in Egypt to make serials and films on epochs of national history, about which fans are eager to learn more .”
“Everyone sees Abdul Nasser in a certain way. Therefore, it is hard to please everybody,” Mohammad Nayer, the script writer of the soap, said. He added that Nasser’s family refused to cooperate with him in providing further details about his life. “Many references and memoirs were examined before we started working on this serial,” he said. “We also made use of Abdul Nasser’s recorded interviews and speeches.”
But not everyone has assailed the show.
“I think the attack on Jamal Sulaiman in his portrayal of Abdul Nasser is not related to his accent or characterization,” Mohammad Sultan, an entertainment critic, said. “It is because he [Sulaiman] presented Abdul Nasser as a human being who makes errors, and not an infallible angel.”
