An Egyptian court yesterday ruled to allow the production of a biographical television series about the life of one of the most controversial female stars in the history of Egyptian cinema. The court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Zaki Fateen Abdel Wahab in which he called for a ban on the production of biographies documenting the life of his mother, Laila Murad, a singer and actress who converted from Judaism to Islam. Abdel Wahab filed his lawsuit against the heirs of Saleh Morsi, who wrote Murad's biography and was one of the most famous spy literature writers in Egypt. Abdel Waheb demanded that the successors to Morsi's estate be prevented from writing and screening a television series on the life of Murad (1918-1995). Abdel Wahab said he opposed production of the series as he did not wish rumors to be spread about the life of his mother, who gave up her artistic career some 40 years before her death. Morsi penned the scenarios for some of the most successful Egyptian television series, including “Dumou fi Oyoun Waqiha” (Tears in Shameless Eyes) which told the story of Egyptian intelligence agent Ahmed al-Hawwan. Morsi also wrote the scenario for another equally successful series, "Rafaat al-Haggan," which centered on operations carried out by another Egyptian intelligence agent named Refaat al-Gammal. Murad was one of Egypt's most prominent movie stars and singers of the 1940s and 1950s, and the only actor, besides comedian Ismail Yassin, to have her name appear in the titles of movies. Rumors about Murad were however rife. She was once accused of donating money to Israel, but was later cleared of the charges.
