RAWALPINDI: The Pakistani makers of an upcoming joint television production with Turkey on the life of a 12th century Muslim general said this week the idea behind the new series was to create awareness about Muslim history as well as promote Pakistan’s entertainment industry globally.
The three-season television series, a joint venture by Pakistan’s Ansari & Shah Films and Turkey’s Akli Films, will be about the life of Salah Al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, more popularly known as Saladin in the English-speaking world. Turkish filmmaker Emre Konuk announced the agreement with Pakistan to co-produce the show on August 21.
A happy news on a blessed Friday night! Contract signed between Akli Films and Ansari&Shah Films about ‘Sultan Selahaddin Ayyubi’. May this international project, which will be prepared with the cooperation of Turkey and Pakistan, be beneficial to our country and our art world.
— Emre KONUK (@emrekonukk) August 20, 2021
Saladin (1138-1193), who founded the Ayyubid dynasty and was the first sultan of Egypt and Syria, led Muslim military campaigns against the Crusader states and seized the holy city ofJerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187.
Pakistani producer Junaid Ali Shah told Arab News 75 percent of the show’s cast would be Turkish while the rest would be from Pakistan. He said the show would be shot in Turkey and Pakistan and would be in the Turkish language, with Urdu dubbing.
“We want to promote the Pakistani film industry through this project as well,” Shah told Arab News over the phone. “We aim to learn from the Turkish film industry to uplift the Pakistani entertainment sector.”
He also said he hoped the television production would help to project Islam in a positive light on the world stage.
“The global geopolitical situation has created a lot of misconceptions about Islam, the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and we want to make sure that we can present a soft image of Islam in front of the world and show them that we are not terrorists or Crusaders,” Shah said. “We have a soft, loving and peaceful religion.”
“Media is a tool we can wield to counter these harmful narratives,” the producer added. “[Muslims] like to live in peaceful coexistence with others, and that is the message of Saladin as well.”
Kashif Ansari of Pakistan’s Ansari & Shah Films said the project was not a “commercial” venture for the producers but “a mission for our team.”
“We are taking it to the next level to make this world a better place by promoting peaceful coexistence,” he told Arab News in a phone interview. “We can all coexist, regardless of our race, color, religion, ethnicity, or background. This worldview was also epitomized by the protagonist of this series.”
Ansari said his organization had been in talks with Turkey’s Akli Films to bring to life a story that highlighted Muslim contributions to the world.
“We started thinking about the role of some great leaders of the past, regardless of their background or political affiliations, and ultimately found a person [Saladin] who was uncontroversial and respected across the globe,” he said.
Producers from both countries have also worked closely on the venture with two of Pakistan’s best-known actors, Humayun Saeed and Adnan Siddiqui.
Siddiqui said in a press statement there was no better time to bring Islamic history to the world than now, since the Muslim voice was resonating in the world affairs.
“We have seen that Muslims have emerged as a robust voice in international politics in the last few months,” he said. “We want the world to recognize our community’s existence as a significant part of the larger narrative in the new world order. For this to happen, we also need to make the world aware of our great history and the valorous rulers we had.”