It's official Muhammed Hassan character done in the WWE
 

WWE drops Muhammed Hassan character

Mohammad Hassan

Canadian Press

7/23/2005 10:37:42 AM

STAMFORD, Conn. - World Wrestling Entertainment has agreed to remove an Arab-American character from a popular television show after complaints about an episode featuring masked henchmen that aired the day of the London bombings.

The Stamford-based wrestling company said it would no longer feature Muhammad Hassan on its "SmackDown!" program. UPN, the station that airs the show, had asked WWE to be sensitive about the character, WWE said.

"It was an interesting character," said Gary Davis, a WWE spokesman. "This was an unfortunate sequence of events. Some people drew the conclusion these people were terrorists even though they were not terrorists."

During the episode, five Hassan henchmen in ski masks and camouflage ran into the ring to beat up his rival, the Undertaker, who had defeated Hassan's sidekick. The men then carried Hassan's sidekick over their heads, which to some evoked a martyr's funeral.

The show did not air in London, but it did appear in the U.S. with an advisory to parents because of the bombings, Davis said. The segment sparked 200 to 300 complaints, he said.



"There really wasn't any time for UPN to edit the program. So they opted to put up an advisory," Davis said.

While Hassan will not appear again on "SmackDown!," he will be featured Sunday on a pay-per view event. Beyond that, his future is uncertain.

"SmackDown!" draws more than 5 million viewers per week, Davis said.

"We asked them to remove it because we thought that was the right thing to do," said Joanna Massey, a UPN spokeswoman.

Hassan, a character introduced last November and played by Mark Copani, grows up in Detroit as a typical American.

But after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he believes he is treated differently by his fellow Americans, leading him to embrace his Arab roots and feel alienated from the U.S.

"The whole point of the story line and this character was to point out the injustices Arab-Americans have suffered since 9-11," Davis said.

But the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee objected to the character. One of its campaigns resulted in nearly 500 complaints sent to WWE, a spokeswoman said.

The character could raise doubts about the patriotism of Arab-Americans, said Siwar Bandar, communications coordinator for the committee.

"The character deals with a very sensitive issue," Bandar said. "However, he does so in a context that is violent, that is turning his back on America."

The committee welcomed the decision to take the character off "SmackDown!" and hopes WWE will make major changes to the character or not feature the wrestler at all, Bandar said.

WWE counts on villains to draw fan interest in its plots, said WWE analyst Dennis McAlpine, managing director of McAlpine Associates in Scarsdale, N.Y. With the Cold War long over, Russians are out and it's getting tougher to find a bad guy, he said.

"You can't find too many more bad guys any more," McAlpine said. "I think the character was probably getting a bit over the top any way."

The controversy left Hassan angry on a recent episode in which he was greeted with shouts of "USA" as he entered the ring. One fan held up a sign telling him to leave the country.

"Because of my heritage, because of my background, I'm labeled 'terrorist,' " Hassan told the fans to a chorus of boos. "I have been denied my God-given right to pursue the profession of my choice, to pursue the American dream."

This isn't anything new and it doesn't directly say that they have dropped him completly. I still hope that he may move to Raw.

Now granted I don't know much about it, but is it really that hard to cut out a 3 or 4 minutes segment? It's not even like it was scattered through out the show, at some point after Undertaker pinned Daivari, fade out, commercial or something

I think the WWE are using the Internet again to enhance Hassan. He'll move back to RAW.

Back to reading Smackdown spoilers now.

So gay

Exactly they coulda edited it out easily, would have taken a few minutes to do. Hopefully they just shift him over to raw, would be retarded to see him get the boot over a wwe created storyline.

I thought his name was Mark Magnus?

That would be awesome!


SWERVE!

I just wonder if Spike TV is gonna be as uptight as UPN. But since TNA is signing with Spike, maybe WWE could piss them off anyways, and throw Hassan on RAW.

That's what I thought too, but awhile ago I read somewhere that Caponi is his real name. I guess Magnus just sounded better or something.

And you never liked Christian?

I can't believe that 200-300 complaints out of millions of people can warrant Hassan being forced off smackdown. If that's the case, we should all claim Hulk Hogan and Triple H and JBL offend us.

People actually complained about Hassan and got their way? That's the most ridiculous crap I've ever heard.

One thing I don't like though, is how they just put on an "Allahu Akbar" song during the replay of the Hassan assault on Taker in the video package.

Yah i guess Mexicools and JBL's blatant racism arent bad, but putting Arab American on tv. GOD NO! HE MIGHT BOMB STUFF. ON TV!!!!!!!!

I was watching smackdown again, but since WWE and Vince Mcmahon obviously have no sack. I'm not gunna watch smackdown anymore. Not that i already didnt watch it that often to begin with. He'll its like pulling teeth just to get me to watch RaW anymore.

Good job Vince. I know my opinions mean dick. Which is why i wont be watching anymore. THis is retarded.

I'll read spoilers from now on.

Yeah, wait, I just realized something. JBL kicking Mexican ass on the border is a-ok, but an Arab talking about how racist Americans are by chanting USA to him the second he enters the ring is WRONG?!

Oh yeah, not to mention, a latino proud of "lying, cheating, and stealing"-which is the stereotype of most hispanics.

The sad thing is he isn't really arab is he?(read somewhere on this board once that he is actually american i think)

I reckon if we got 200-300 complaints together we could get HHH off our tv for good.I find his big nose offensive.

what they will probly do is not bring him back till they move to usa.

As a tribute to his memory, we should hold a two minute ALAYLALAELALYA.

LOL. DUH, his character has time and time again stated that he IS American. He's an Arab-American.

(And the guy that plays him is Mark Copani, who is Italian/Jordanian.)

:y:

"from a popular television show"

I wouldn't call Smackdown Popular... :shifty:

Hassan will be on Raw, He better be.

My fear is that if he does come back to Smackdown, he'll have the opposite character.

The impact on the concrete messes up his head and when he comes back he's the new "super-patriotic" Hassan, who loves America.

I wouldn't call "five million viewers" unpopular.

Yeah but i meant he wasn't arab at all, so the arab-american bit is bullshit and is just a character thing.That was what i was saying.

That makes me wonder how 200-300 complaints can be enough to chuck a character of a show that is that popular, you would've thought they would take into account that millions of other viewers think the opposite way.

It was probably just due to the sensitivity of the situation/day. If this had been done (aired) before the London bombings yeah you would of still had some people outraged, but it wouldn't of been made into such a big deal.

According to the WWE.com poll, 57% believe Undertaker went too far last night. 43% believe Hassan got what he deserved. What does that tell you? A few months ago, that would've been much more skewed toward Undertaker's side.

Lmao,man. It was obvious he powerbombed Hassan onto something to protect him,those people who complain seem to forget when stuff like this happens that it's not real.

So was the Hassan/Taker segment that got him kicked off TV.

Ya I do, but I need more than 1 or 2 reasons to turn into a two hour program. I liked Kurt, but still read the spoilers because only he and Carlito were there. Smackdown had the Mexicools, Hassan, and Christian.

I was just looking at that WikiPedia article. I had no idea that Hassan is 24 and Daivari is 21. It's weird nowadays to think that I'm the same age as most of these new guys coming in. Rene Dupree, for one, is what, 22? Damn. :p

I was just thinking the same thing.

I've thrown my life away. :'(

How is it official, if the WWE is still offering an update page on his condition?