New Egyptian film mirrors real tension between Muslims and Christians

The other day I went to see Egypt's new and popular big-screen release, Hassan and Morkos, which tackles the issue of relations between Christians and Muslims in Egypt. It is the first film in quite some time to take up this subject, and it does so at a key moment - just as tensions increase between Coptics and Muslims here - and through two of Eygpt's biggest stars.

In the movie, a Coptic priest, played by Adel Imam, and a devout Muslim, played by Omar Sharif, are forced to assume false identities after being attacked by enemies. Imam adopts the identity of a respected Muslim sheikh, and Sharif of a Christian man, and of course you can imagine where it goes from there. After eliciting laughs early on (such as a scene where Imam is brought to a mosque and asked to deliver fatwas on various situations) the film transformed abruptly into a melodrama promoting tolerance and unity, and ends with the two families walking hand in hand through violent sectarian clashes in Alexandria.

The movie, and its warm reception in theaters, is significant in the context of current events, such as this outbreak of sectarian clashes in Fayoum, this in Minya, and this in Abu Fana, not to mention the riots between Christians and Muslims in Alexandria in 2004 and 2005. Tensions seem to be running high, and the international press is also noticing. The Washington Post recently chronicled what it calls the increasing self-imposed "isolation" of Coptics as they come under pressure and attack, and Bloomberg raised the possibility of Lebanon-like sectarian strife coming to Egypt. While the Post and Bloomberg pieces seemed a little over the top to me, perhaps that's wishful thinking.

They did make me think of a Egyptian friend from a Coptic family who assured me that Muslims were not to be trusted; of an Egyptian Muslim man who recently accused Christians of sacrificing babies during worship rites; of a Coptic taxi driver who mocked the call to prayer several Fridays ago; of a Muslim who told me the Bible teaches Christians to kill unbelievers.

And indeed there is a Facebook group, albeit with only 27 members, calling on Muslims to boycott Imam's films because the actor, in reality a Muslim, played a Christian in Hassan and Morkos. But there is also a group supportive of the movie, with 80 members, and as of Wednesday, 787 people had become virtual "fans" of the movie on Facebook. And if the full theaters are any indication, the film - whether or not that includes its message - has more supporters than detractors.

Here is a trailer for the movie with subtitles in English.