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13 Aug, 2009 09:47

Egyptian ex-president’s daughter lashes out at Hollywood movie

A US film studio has got itself into hot water due to a movie with a dog named after a former Egyptian president. Anwar Sadat’s family has become outraged by the allusion and filed a lawsuit against the comedy’s makers.

What’s in a name? Well, even for a little dog it can become a big trouble.

“He’s cute, what’s his name? – Anwar Sadat, after Anwar Sadat, the former President of Egypt,” one of the scenes in the film says.

And that’s exactly the problem.

“I Love You Man”, a new Hollywood comedy about male friendships, has sparked controversy in Egypt.

The daughter of the country’s former president has filed a complaint in Cairo against the film’s makers, Dreamworks, for naming the dog after her father.

Rokaya Sadat is also suing Egypt’s minister of information for allowing the movie to be shown.

“The government is indifferent towards what’s being shown in this film. There’s no outrage, no reaction. This film is aimed against the whole of the Arab world, against the Arab states’ leadership,” says Samir Sabri, Rokaya Sadat’s lawyer.

The film opened on screens in Egypt last month but the scene with the dog was chopped out by the distributor.

Controversy was only sparked last week when the clip was discovered and shown on an Egyptian website.

While some in Egypt have called the film a slight against Arabs and Muslims, debate is raging.

“We are of course against someone’s name being tarnished like that, but the late president Sadat is paying the price for the big and small concessions he made to Zionism and its followers,” says local journalist Mahmoud al-Asqalani.

Anwar Sadat was Egypt’s president between 1970 and 1981, until his assassination by Islamic militants. Three years before his death, he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for the Camp David accords that later led to a peace deal with Israel.

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