Controversial Egyptian actor takes swipe at Arabs, US

He is no stranger to controversy. Yet, Mohamed Sobhi, one of the Arab world's most popular actors, is as defiant as ever.

"When you speak out against the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the US occupation of Iraq, does this mean inciting hatred?" he asked, in an exclusive interview with Gulf News.

"Children in the Arab world sleep and wake up to scenes of Israel's killing of Palestinians. Should art be blamed for the existing hatred of Israel?"

Two years ago, Sobhi hit international headlines with his Fares Bela Gawwad (Horseman Without a Horse), a TV series, which Jewish groups slammed as anti-Semitic, allegedly for being inspired by the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion. US officials demanded the show be taken off the air, accusing it of relying on 'racist and untrue sources'. Egypt refused to comply, denying charges the series promoted hatred of the Jews.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are historically believed to be a fake treatise, fabricated by Russian secret police in the early 20th century as a pretext for persecuting the Jews. In his widely viewed series, Sobhi plays an Egyptian journalist struggling against British occupation and Zionism.

"The series says: 'Take care lest history should repeat itself'," Sobhi said, in reference to his controversial soap opera, which was broadcast as Washington toughened its line against Iraq's Saddam Hussain.

Sobhi told Gulf News the idea of the series, which he co-wrote, had been on his mind for 18 years. Producers of the show denied they sought to verify or refute the authentity of the Protocols.

However, as Sobhi himself maintained, the Arabic translation of the text became a bestseller following the series.

Sobhi was at the centre of another controversy triggered by his visits to Iraq with other Arab entertainers when Saddam was in power.

"I went to Iraq and showed 'Mama America', the revenues of which went to Iraqi children who were suffering under the (UN) sanctions," he said. Sobhi was referring to his latest stage show, which, as the title suggests, is firing broadsides against the US. The comedy is being performed at a packed theatre in central Cairo.

"The public finds an outlet in 'Mama America'," he explained. "The current events vindicate its storyline."

Sobhi has achieved fame due to a string of TV sitcoms and stage shows in which he appeared since graduation from the Institute of Acting in Cairo in 1970. He has soared to fresh heights of popularity with his hit stage shows with political overtones, mainly "The Savage", "Ravings", "Plainly Speaking" and "Mama America".

His new project will most likely be a political satire of the situation in the Arab world in the wake of the Iraq war. He, nonetheless, keeps mum on details, apparently fearing a repeat of the uproar, which erupted before his "Horseman Without a Horse" hit the airwaves in November 2002.

He sees nothing wrong with his meetings with Saddam during his visits to Baghdad. "I am not a politician. I am an artist. I visited several other Arab countries. We condemned the (1990) Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. What was the problem, that I shook hands with Saddam Hussain? I didn't choose him as ruler. This is nonsense and a waste of time," Sobhi said.

"Saddam is gone. Now you should demand the Americans quit Iraq. The Iraqi people have suffered enough." Still, he believes that the US will not leave the Gulf in the foreseeable future.

Sobhi's "Mama America" is cited in a bill recently tabled to the US House of Representatives as a 'virulently anti-American piece'.

Anthony Weiner (Democrat, New York) presented his Egyptian Counter-terrorism and Political Reform Act to the House in late January, suggesting US military assistance to Egypt be prohibited. Weiner portrays Egypt as an unrealiable ally in the US-led war on terrorism and a dictatorship. He accuses the Egyptian government of condoning 'hostile propaganda' against the US and Israel.

"This is foolish. They (the Americans) must have their own institutions, which should know how the Egyptians really feel. They want to teach us how to behave and instil in us new morals. And we react as fools, toeing their line and doing what we are told unquestioningly. We imitate them. We present trivial programmes."

Sobhi is, however, quick to point that he is not against the US people 'whose culture and advocacy of liberty we appreciate'.

Asked to comment on a recent report in an Iraqi newspaper which listed the names of Arab and foreign politicians and entrepreneurs allegedly offered lavish oil vouchers by Saddam to support him, Sobhi said sarcastically. "What does this mean? Was this oil sold secretly? Those who make such a claim should come forward to prove it."

Ramadan El Sherbini is an Egyptian writer based in Cairo