Lion of the Desert is the dramatic action epic of the struggle of Omar Mukhtar (played by Anthony Quinn), leader of the Muslim resistance in North Africa in the 1920's and 30's, against the imperialism of Mussolini and the Italian army. The film follows Mukhtar’s brilliant, relentless effort to rid Libya of the Italian invaders from 1911 until 1931 when he was eventually captured and executed by Mussolini's forces.

The movie is now widely critically acclaimed, after initially receiving negative publicity in the West for being partially funded by Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi, who invested $35 million in the movie. It is considered by many to be one of the best films about Arabs ever made. Not only did it offer a sympathetic view of Islam as a humane faith, it also illustrates what viewers almost never see — brave young Bedouins. In one notable scene the film's star, Anthony Quinn, is teaching young village boys the meaning of the Qur’an. "Why," Quinn asks them, "do you think we begin every chapter of the Qur’an with 'God the merciful'?"

Italian authorities banned the movie in 1982 because, in the words of Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, it was considered "damaging to the Army's honour". Later, the movie was illegally projected at a number of film festivals from 1988, without interference from the government. Minister for Culture Giuliano Urbani, on April 15, 2003, stated that any movie needs to be reviewed by government authorities before it can be publicly shown, in order to evaluate suitability for minors: according to Mr. Urbani, this evaluation has never been requested for the movie.

The movie was directed by Moustapha Akkad. He was best known in the West as the producer of the first eight Halloween movies. But in the Islamic world, Akkad was best known as the director and producer of Mohammad, Messenger of God (released as The Message in 1977 in the United States), starring Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas. Akkad came to LA from Allepo in the 1950s to study film—attempting to use the movie capital's power to reshape negative stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims. Akkad faced resistance from Hollywood to making a film about the origins of Islam and had to go outside the United States to raise the production money for the film. While creating Muhammad, Messenger of God, he consulted Islamic clerics and tried to be respectful toward Islam and its views on portraying Prophet Muhammad. He saw the film as a way to bridge the gap between the Western and Islamic world, stating in a 1976 interview: “I did the film because it is a personal thing for me. Besides its production values as a film, it has its story, its intrigue, its drama. Beside all this I think there was something personal, being Muslim myself who lived in the west I felt that it was my obligation my duty to tell the truth about Islam. It is a religion that has a 700 million following, yet it's so little known about it which surprised me. I thought I should tell the story that will bring this bridge, this gap to the west.”

Akkad, and his 34-year-old daughter Rima Akkad Monla, died as a result of the 2005 Al-Qaeda Amman bombings. They were both in the lobby at the Grand Hyatt. His daughter died instantly, and Akkad died of his injuries two days later in a hospital. As Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed wrote in the newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, "The irony is that Akkad, the very man who delivered a wonderful image of Islam, was killed by Al-Qaeda, the very organization that has defamed Islam and Muslims."

Great post.

Always liked Qaddafi, stood up to bullshit for so long...do his people like him??
Remember hearing he outlawed billboards and landlords in a single swoop once, and he has swimmin' pools for his camels, now that shits' cool.....if hes' not an asshole, oh wait, he's a leader....nvrmnd.

Incredible bio above, why are Muslims not coming out of the woodworks like this now, and forcing the U.S. media's hand, demanding rebuttal...Allah knows, there are enough of them!

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