Apologizes the screenwriter and novelist Egyptian Ahmed Morad, for the statements he recently made about film "The Lady" which narrates the biography of the star of the East Umm Kulthum.
He confirmed that his words were taken out of context, and that he did not intend in any way to offend or compare between sacred religious characters and any other character.
Morad said in press statements: "The sentence was taken out of context, and conveyed an unintended meaning. My intentions were never and will never be to insult or make comparisons that affect our religious sanctities in any way".
He clarified that his remarks were in the context of explaining the artistic challenges associated with writing a biography for a public figure with an exceptional presence like Umm Kulthum, noting that he used the word "messenger" in a general form – not in its sacred religious sense – to highlight the difficulty of portraying a character surrounded by a halo of cultural or symbolic sanctity, and not for religious purposes.
He added: "I was clarifying a technical aspect related to the difficulty of writing a biography for a great person like Umm Kulthum, compared to writing a biography for other characters. I fully understand the upset some felt about the way the sentence was received, and I apologize because the phrasing was not fortunate".
Morad had sparked widespread controversy last week, when he said during a press interview about the challenges faced by the team during the preparation of film "The Lady": "If we were making a film about a messenger, it would be somewhat easier!".
The phrase caused a wave of anger on social media, with accusations of "overstepping" and "trivializing the sanctities," although the artistic context of the conversation was about the difficulty of portraying Umm Kulthum, who is considered a national and artistic symbol that is difficult to approach without generating controversy.
The film "The Lady" recounts the autobiography of Umm Kulthum, one of the leading stars of Arab singing in the 20th century, and highlights prominent stations from her personal and artistic life, and the relationships that shaped her unique career.
The film features a cast of stars from the Egyptian cinema, including: Mona Zaki (in the role of Umm Kulthum), Sayed Rajab, Tamer Nabil, Ahmed Khaled Saleh, Amr Saad, Mohamed Farag, Ahmed Amin, Ali Subhi, Asser Yassin, Karim Abdel Aziz, Ahmed Helmy, Nelly Karim, Amina Khalil, Sadky Sakhr, and Ahmed Abd Allah Mahmoud.
The film was written by Ahmed Morad, directed by Marwan Hamed, and has been announced as one of the biggest Egyptian cinematic productions in recent years.
Following the wave of criticism, it appears that Morad's apology comes in an attempt to calm public opinion, with an emphasis on his full respect for the religious and cultural constants of Egypt.
