The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam(2005)- User Reviews

I have watched the movie in D.C. at E St Theatre. The producer Mr.Mashayekh portraits himself as a person who truly wants to help erase the misocnceptions of Middle Easterners and Muslims in the eyes of Westerners. This is what he says on his website www. keepermovie. com(www. greatomar. com) and also he expressed this goal of himself in person, at the theathre. However, he is creating another misconception of the Middle Eastern people, the Muslims, and the Islamic History. While some extremists are portraying Islam as a religion of heretics who pray on innocent people, who are oppresivve, intolerant, against science and etc, on the other hand Mr. Mashayekh is presenting another dilusion of the truth by portraying Muslims as alcoholic mystics or romantic people who do adultery, very low charactered in most parts etc. I am confused with what I see in the movie and what he says about the movie's goals. Another expert at the theatre admitted that the story about Omar Khayyam as told in the movie is mostly inappropriate and inaccurate, as Khayyam was not known to drink, or even had any relations to a woman at all. The Malikshah character was a disaster. So from one extreme illustration of Islam to another. I appreciate his goodwill of trying to erase the misconceptions about Islam in the Western World, however I believe he contributes to the misconceptions and deepens it. His mistake is to assume that inorder to make Islam prettier in the eyes of Others, he has to put rebellious figures like "public alcohol consumption, adultery, humiliating and disrespecting rulers of the past, and etc" into the movie so that it would be more acceptable. However, as at one instance in the movie Omar Khayyam was to tell the future by looking at the stars and report it to Malikshah, he says:" ...Astronomy is not astrology...A ruler is as strong as his advisors are...what kind of an advisor is that he keeps the truth from his Sultan..." So what kind of a producer/ writer/ director is that he keeps the truth from the auidence whom he claims he is enlightening. He did not get one bit of Omar Khayyam's spirit. As long as people thirsty for fame and publicity, (who can use religion and history as means to their goals whatever they are), are present (especially among Muslims), the misconceptions would never decrease, unfortunately more confused people would be created.