WWE Garners Mainstream Attention Due to Mohammad Hassan

This story is taking an interesting twist. It started some months ago. The WWE introduced the character of Mohammad Hassan (portrayed by Mark Copani), an Arab American who was fed up with the ways that Arab American's have been treated since 9/11.

This could make for an interesting angle, but sometimes things go too far. A couple of weeks back the angle took another step. Airing the same day as the bombings in London, Hassan became portrayed as a full blown terrorist leader. He motioned prayers to the skies as 5 masked men, wearing fatigues, hit the ring to beat down the Undertaker.

Now, while Hassan seems to possess good mic skills, his wrestling ability has yet to be tested and it appears he may not get that chance for awhile. Following this event, UPN placed a ban on the character. This has forced Vince McMahon to pull the character completely. He will be appearing at the Great American Bash on 7/25, to face 'Taker, but beyond that, things look grim.

I think that UPN did the right thing with regards to the character. There are ways that he could have been developed without this particular event. On the other hand, I do feel bad for Mark Copani, this turn sort of leaves him out in the cold. Hopefully he will be repackaged and come back as something else.

The AP has even picked up on it and has produced a story regarding the character. In the column, a WWE spokesperson, Gary Davis, had the following to say: "The whole point of the story line and this character was to point out the injustices Arab-Americans have suffered since 9-11," he goes on to say: "Some people drew the conclusion these people were terrorists even though they were not terrorists."

This can lead to an interesting character, but this was taking it too far.

See the AP story here, courtesy of Yahoo.

Also at Blogcritics.