Finally, a film sheds Muslim stereotypes

From Arab sheikhs and Muslim terrorists to belly dancers and mysterious women swathed in burqas, Hollywood depictions of Muslims don't generally ring true. But a film opening this Friday may offer a less clichéd view of Muslims, even as it embellishes history.

In Ridley Scott's new medieval epic, "Kingdom of Heaven," after Muslim forces have retaken Jerusalem from the Christians, their leader Saladin strides through a room full of battle debris, only to stop at the sight of a fallen cross. He gently picks up the Christian altarpiece and sets it on a table.

This gesture, as much as any fights or dialogue in the film, delivers a key message about the Crusades: Muslims were human beings, as capable of honor and faith as any Christian in that period, and by implication, says Mr. Scott, in today's world, as well.

"Given that [President] Bush has used the word 'crusades,' " understanding the subtext of the film is important, says the British director. "It is kind of an ambassador asking the question: 'Why can't we all live together?' "

The film's complex and human portrayal of both Christians and Muslims is cause for a small sigh of relief among Muslim scholars and activists in the United States, many of whom say Hollywood just can't get it right when it comes to portraying Middle Easterners.

"Western films usually don't depict Arabs and Muslims as having full lives, families, personalities, or emotions," says William Russell Melton, author of "The New American Expat: Thriving and Surviving Overseas in the Post-9/11 World." In films ranging from "Aladdin" to "The Mummy" to "Rules of Engagement," Muslims are usually "portrayed as simplistic, illiterate, one- dimensional, angry, hateful, untrustworthy and, of course, dirty," he says.

Even before 9/11, says Sabiha Khan, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Los Angeles, "when Muslims or Arabs are portrayed on-screen, there are usually gross stereotypes like the wealthy sheikh, the oppressed women, the Muslim terrorist." After the screening of "Kingdom of Heaven" last week, CAIR issued a national statement of support for Scott's film.

Much work is still to be done, say Ms. Khan and others. Political instability in the Middle East for the better part of the past century, as well as a fundamental lack of familiarity with the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, are big contributors to Hollywood's use of cultural shorthand. While films such as "Heaven" suggest change is afoot, the progress is slow.

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