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Soft power has posed a significant danger to historical facts, Arab and Islamic identity, and the origins and history of nations. American cinema, in particular, has contributed to solidifying the meanings of intellectual occupation, using "Hollywood" and its stars to change fixed concepts. Many dramatic films have been written that played with history and attempted to appeal to the audience to present a different image of the Zionist reality since the inception of the Zionist movement, as well as to improve the Jewish narrative from before Christ in an attempt to connect the Jews of the past with the Jews of the present to impose rights that do not belong to them and a history that is not theirs.

One of the most prominent American production companies that contributed to the service of Zionist thought is the "American Cannon" company.⁾¹⁾ Among its dubious productions are the films "Eight After One," "The Hole," "The Exit," "She," "The Shadow of the Giant," "Independence Day," and other films devoted to defending Zionist thought.

And even today, despite the daily massacres by the Zionist entity in Gaza and Rafah, the trade of alleged persecution throughout history is still ongoing, especially at the Berlin Festival. One of the most famous films related to this historical genre is 'Schindler's List' directed by Steven Spielberg.⁽²⁾

A dubious Zionist cinematic history.

Zionism used the idea of cinema since its spread at the beginning of the last century. One of the most important ideas that were presented and for which prior plans and a substantial amount of spending were allocated was the idea of the right of return and the old homeland. The West responded to the idea of creating an alternative and artificial homeland for the Jews, gathering them from the diaspora and implanting them in Palestine to protect Western colonial interests in Arab and Muslim lands.

Then came "Sykes-Picot," which significantly contributed to the fragmentation of the Arab homeland and facilitated the process of its occupation and the implantation of the entity within it. The most important companies in Hollywood were established to serve this idea and work artistically and subtly to impose the notion of a land without a people, for a people without a homeland. American cinema, in particular, was active in two stages: the first before the establishment of the entity, aiming to create the state, and the second aimed at consolidating the so-called state.⁽³⁾

The deceptive means to achieve the first goal was to market the Nazi persecution of Jews in Europe, in addition to the Holocaust, which was exaggerated and inflated, with many events being claimed before and during World War II (1938-1945). This persecution was considered a justification for Europe to unite in finding a solution in an alternative homeland for these persecuted individuals.

In the second phase, the Arab-Jewish wars were used to portray Arabs as a people of rabble, chaos, racism, and terrorism, while depicting Jews as a peaceful people with a historical right to the land and status. Jewish cinema managed to excel and promote its unjust cause, while the rightful Arab and Muslim owners were lagging behind in using soft power in general. Arab arts were limited to presenting aspects that were not concerned with the history or future of the nation. This was further aided by the Jews' control over the art market in its early stages, their influence on Arab production companies, and their ability to conceal their identities by changing their Jewish names to Arabic ones to avoid being rejected in Arab societies as actors, producers, and directors.

Film 'The Return of the Mummy' and the Search for Identity.

The film "The Mummy Returns"⁽⁴⁾ was shown in the Arab countries after its release in America and Europe. This film promoted the idea that Jews were the ones who built the pyramids, claiming they were slaves under the Egyptian pharaoh. The scenes in the film depicted Egyptians as a group of savage, ignorant, and superficial people. Despite the power of the mummy, the Star of David was portrayed as the only defense against the mummy's wrath, due to the star's supernatural power and ability to protect those who believe in and carry it. The mummy ultimately submits to the Jewish character and takes him as a friend and assistant. Although the mummy refers to the Jew as merely her servant, the initial implication for the viewer is that the Jews are the true origin of the matter, and that they are the rightful heirs to that civilization, even if they are depicted in the film as mere servants who have suffered oppression and injustice.

Similarly, to that film and the use of implicit and indirect messages, Zionist cinema has followed this approach. As we previously mentioned, the control of Zionists over production companies was not limited to American production companies, but also included production companies with Arabic names, some of which carried Islamic names, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. Examples of these artists of Jewish descent who conveyed the Jewish message through their films include the Egyptian artist Omar Sharif, or Michel Chalhoub.⁽⁵⁾ In his latest French film "Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Qur'an," he plays the role of a Muslim merchant who has no goals in life and no ambitions in his simple trade, except for his concern for a Jewish boy whom he adopts in a humanitarian way to help solve the many problems resulting from the absence of his "wronged" father, who suffered from depression due to the persecution he faced as a Jew. The boy is driven to theft, but the man lets him go out of sympathy. Their relationship then develops after the Jewish boy steals the Muslim man's trade, creating a sense of moral responsibility between the Muslim and the child, who was forced by circumstances to steal from the man and seize his business. This sends a clear message about a deep normalization process and acceptance of the status quo, even showing empathy for the favored Jew.

Jewish cinematic attempts to distort Islam

The idea of cultural normalization and imposing a Jewish reality on the world did not overshadow the call for a Zionist homeland. Attempts to directly distort Islam through cinema largely failed, although some of those attempts succeeded to a significant extent. In 1926, Dawad Arifi, of Turkish Jewish origin and interested in cinema and art, came to Egypt. He wanted to produce a film about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), aiming to portray the character of the Prophet. He presented the idea to the Egyptian actor Youssef Wahbi, but he rejected the idea outright. When King Fuad learned of this, he issued an order for Arifi's expulsion from Egypt, and the Egyptian Ministry of Interior completely rejected the idea.

However, Arifi claimed to be Muslim and approached a production company owned by one of the Egyptian actresses, Fatima Rushdi, to present several questionable films that touch on religion and foundational concepts, but under Islamic Arab titles such as the film "The Call of God." Thus, some Jews managed to infiltrate Arab cinema and produce films that were able to create a public consciousness contrary to Islamic values and Arab traditions. Arifi was not the only name that succeeded in infiltrating the depths of our country and artistically distorting the awareness of its masses; rather, the Zionist control over Arab cinema was the foundation.

After those horrifying facts about the Zionist artistic history - which is but a tiny part of those facts - Muslim businessmen and institutions concerned with Islamic thought must pause to reflect on the issue of artistic production and engage in the film industry to create alternatives and confront corrupt ideas with correct thought. Especially since the Islamic artistic concept has succeeded greatly through a series of Turkish historical series such as "Resurrection: Ertugrul," "Ottoman," "Saladin," and others that have gained unprecedented popularity and success, to the extent that one of them occupies the top ratings globally. This matter deserves attention after a long history of collusion and conspiracy.

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Sources :

1. An American company that produces some of the most influential films in Hollywood's history, known later for Cannon Films, produced a number of action and romantic movies whose profits went to founders "Israeli," namely: Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.
2. "Schindler's List" is an American film produced in 1993, directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the book "Schindler's List" (also known as "Schindler's Ark") by Thomas Keneally. The film tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a German Christian industrialist who saved 1,100 Polish Jews from being murdered during the Holocaust in World War II.

The film won 7 Oscars out of 12 nominations, ranked ninth on the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 films of all time, and placed sixth on the Internet Movie Database's rating of the top 250 films in history.

3. The Cinema and Zionist Media by Samir Farid, with modifications.
4. The Mummy Returns: an American adventure film produced in 2001, written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velasquez, and Arnold Vosloo.

The film is a continuation of the events of the movie "The Mummy," which was produced in 1999, set in 1926. The film "The Mummy Returns" continues the story in 1933 (one year after the original "The Mummy" was released in American theaters in 1932). The film was shot in the United Kingdom, Morocco, and Jordan.

5. Omar Sharif (his original name was Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub), (1350 - 1436 AH / 1932-2015 AD) was an Egyptian actor who participated in many films in Hollywood. Among his most famous roles are starring in films such as "Doctor Zhivago," "The Pink Panther," and "Lawrence of Arabia." Sharif was nominated for an Oscar and won 3 Golden Globe Awards, as well as a César Award.

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