The ANNOTICO Report
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, controversial
pro-wrestling
character, Muhammad Hassan was treated like an outsider:
profiled at
airports, ethnically insulted and shunned by a cold America.
And so he
transformed into a raging fiend bent on revenge.
Scowling, he enters arenas with an Arab headdress to the
thump of Middle
Eastern music and cries of "Allah Akhbar," the Arabic
phrase for "God is
great." Despite the baying crowds, he usually wins.
But late Sunday night, Hassan was beaten bloody in a match
that may be his
last. After protests from viewers, TV stations and Arab-American
groups,
Hassan's character has been written out of the fantasy
world of World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
However, the character is played by Mark Copani, a tanned
Italian-American
from New York.:)
By Niraj Warikoo
Staff Writer
Detroit Free Press
July 26, 2005
He is an Arab American born and raised in Detroit.
But after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Muhammad
Hassan was treated
like an outsider: profiled at airports, ethnically insulted
and shunned by
a cold America. And so he transformed into a raging fiend
bent on revenge.
That story -- complete fiction -- is the basis of a controversial
pro-wrestling character watched by millions across the
country over the
past several months. Scowling, he enters arenas with
an Arab headdress to
the thump of Middle Eastern music and cries of "Allah
Akhbar," the Arabic
phrase for "God is great." Despite the baying crowds,
he usually wins.
But late Sunday night, Hassan was beaten bloody in a match
that may be his
last. After protests from viewers, TV stations and Arab-American
groups,
Hassan's character has been written out of the fantasy
world of World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
The writers of the script say it was a sensitive portrayal
of how bigotry
can lead Muslims down a radical path.
But to many local Arab Americans, it was a story line
that stoked hatred
for profit.
"You're creating negative views of Arab Americans," said
Bilal Dabaja, a
20-year-old college student of Arab descent from Dearborn
who loved pro
wrestling when he was younger. "We know he's performing
an act, but for a
lot of young kids, these stories could be seen as true."
They are stories that highlight tensions about the status
of Arab Americans
and Muslims living in the West after the London bombings
earlier this
month. But the show's provocative suggestion -- that
some Western-raised
Muslims may pose a threat -- is one many locally find
absurd.
The character is played by Mark Copani, a tanned Italian-American
from New
York. The role came under intense criticism July 7, the
day of the London
terrorist attacks, when UPN aired a match that night
featuring Hassan. He
loped into the arena with five men in black ski masks
and camouflage as the
crowed chanted "U-S-A!"
After Hassan's manager, an Iranian Muslim, was beaten
senseless by an
opponent, the five men carried the manager out on their
shoulders in what
appeared to be a funeral for a suicide bomber.
Viewer protests followed, prompting UPN to lean on the
WWE to dump the
character, UPN spokeswoman Joanna Massey said Monday.
WWE officials agreed and said Monday that Hassan probably
will not be back
after Sunday night's match, which again featured the
suicide-bomber story
line. But the WWE insists the depiction was a positive
one that tried to
probe the bias Arab Americans have faced over the past
few years.
"The writers did a fairly good job of giving background
and context to the
character," said Gary Davis, a spokesman for WWE. "They
were trying to get
across a very serious issue that Arab Americans face."
Local Arab Americans don't buy that.
Imad Hamad's three kids, ages 7 to 11, enjoy watching
professional
wrestling at their home in Dearborn. But they were confused,
and troubled,
when they started to see Hassan on the show "SmackDown,"
watched by 5
million viewers every week.
"My kids were saying: This is not us, this is not right,"
said Hamad,
regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee, which
took a lead role in trying to remove the character. "There's
nothing
entertaining when it comes to hatred and bigotry."
Hassan made his debut in November, when he started to
appear in TV promos.
In the world of professional wrestling, backstories are
part of the fun,
giving viewers colorful tales that add to the drama.
Hassan's story was this:
Born in the United States, he wanted to fit in. But after
Sept. 11, 2001,
the 20-something became the victim of bias and ethnic
harassment. In one
clip on www.wwe.com, he and his Iranian manager, Daivari,
are in a rage,
glaring at the screen in what appears to be an airport.
"Because we are of Arab descent, we are singled out, we
are humiliated and
often we are strip-searched because my name is Muhammad,"
growls Hassan,
played by Copani. "We are Arab Americans," he adds, putting
a strong
emphasis on "Americans." "And we demand the same rights
that any American
has. And if you don't give us the respect that we demand,
then I will beat
it out of anyone who gets in my way!"
Hassan played his first match in January. Weighing 245
pounds, he usually
entered the arena with Arabic music and Islamic calls
to prayer blaring
over a loudspeaker. He was always angry.
"He was a loyal Arab American, but was treated differently
because he
happened to be Arab," explained Davis. "His anger caused
him to take the
course of embracing his roots and being defiant to his
fellow Americans
because of their reaction to him."
In one of his first matches, Hassan declared to a booing crowd:
"If you don't open your eyes and see what you're doing
to my Arab brothers,
to me, to me," he proclaims in a clip on www.wwe.com,
"then my New Year's
resolution will be to personally beat some sense into
America."
Such stereotypes during times of foreign conflict are
not new in pro
wrestling. During the 1980s, as the United States squared
off against Iran
and the Soviet Union in the Cold War, two of the most
popular wrestlers
were the Iron Sheikh and Nikolai Volkoff.
The Iron Sheikh, who was actually from Iran, defiantly
waved an Iranian
flag and sneered at the United States. He was world champion
for about a
month starting in December 1983, but lost his title to
Hulk Hogan. In 1985,
Iron Sheikh teamed up with Volkoff, a Russian, to win
the tag-team
championship.
Years later, the Iron Sheikh had a running feud with Sgt.
Slaughter, a
wrestler who was a proud member of the U.S. Army.
This year, as the Iraq war droned on, Hassan's loyalty
was often called
into question by other wrestlers.
It's all an act. But to many Arab Americans, a painful one.
Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO at 248-351-2998 or warikoo@freepress.com.