Soapbox: Film controversy By Abdallah El-Ashaal An Iranian documentary on the assassination of president Anwar El-Sadat has touched a raw nerve in Egypt. More importantly, it has given Iran's critics opportunity to claim that they've been right all along. Before the debate goes any further, I would like to get a few things straight. One is that political assassination is a barbaric act, regardless of who commits it. Sadat was a larger-than-life figure, and so were his achievements and failings. Yet his own people must judge him, not outsiders. Some in this country believe that Sadat was wrong to go to Jerusalem and pursue peace with Israel, while others see these acts as his lasting legacy. But no one in this country endorses the assassination. As Egyptians, we're willing to criticise our leaders, but we hate it when outsiders do. I may disagree with Sadat's policies, but I don't see his assassin as a hero and it hurts me when the Iranians do. The documentary, The Execution of a Pharaoh, has given Iran's critics ammunition at the worst of times. Those who say that it is a work of art that needn't have an impact on Egypt-Iran relations are naïve. There are people in the region who want Iran isolated. There are Arabs and Zionists who feel no love lost for Iran. This documentary has reinforced their cause. It has poisoned the atmosphere at the very moment of Egyptian- Iranian rapprochement. Egyptians would have been offended with such a documentary even if the producers were not Iranians. It is therefore unfortunate that the film should come out of Tehran and at this juncture. I must say that I was looking forward to Egyptian- Iranian rapprochement and that I found the film, to say the least, to be lacking in taste. Hopefully, Iranian officials will find a way to distance themselves from this film. This week's Soapbox speaker is former assistant to the foreign minister.
