5/10
For everyone not familiar with the middle east, Islam and its history
2 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is very watchable for a low budget flick. The historical references were close to perfect. I'm surprised judging from all the reviews, nobody has any accurate knowledge about Islam here. Islam has many divisions when it comes to religious beliefs other than the Quran. The two largest are Shia's, or Ismaili's and Sunni's who usually in a political sense don't quite get along with each other. There are many others, including Bori's, Agha Khanis, etc. Hassan from the movie is a Shia and Sallahudin's army etc consists of Sunni's. The division started during politics in Mecca and Madina after the death of the Prophet(PBUH) between most of the companions of the Prophet(PBUH) and his cousin Hazrat Ali (use the internet its pretty interesting. The woman who looked like an American was a Christian forced to convert to Islam after her city was sacked and she was enslaved and then her master fell in love with her and bla bla bla. Slavery was a common practice back then. A Muslim woman bathing in public was actually quite common in those times, so was taking a dump in a bush, even if people were watching. Public Toilet Cabins were not that common :P. As for people who didn't understand how she was providing food for her guests, she states in the movie that her husband supplies her with enough food. She's away from civilization since her mother in law from her first husband didn't like her. It is a custom in most middle eastern areas, that Son's usually stay with there parents even after their married, as it is there rightful obligation to care for them in old age. Women in Islam are not oppressed as I get the vibe from some of the reviews here, as it is not Islam but the culture that is to blame nowadays. There are only two countries where I feel the women are oppressed, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Overall this movie was great but the ending sucked bad.....oh and btw for those of you that don't know soap wasn't introduced to the general public of Europe till the late 13th Century, before that soap was only used by high ranking Nobles and Royalties as a luxury.
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