Al-massir (1997)

Joseph, the son of a Christian from Languedoc who died at the stake for translating Averroes, arrives in Córdoba, where the philosopher’s family welcomes him. Averroes, a qadi and chief adviser to Caliph al-Mansur, is known for his wisdom, tolerance, and fairness. Abdellah, the caliph’s son, spends his time dancing among the Roma. He is in love with Sarah, who loves him too; she is Marwan’s sister-in-law, and Marwan is a friend of Averroes. The caliph and Nasser, heir to the throne, condemn Abdellah’s conduct. But members of a fanatical Muslim sect manage to recruit him. Moreover, when they try to assassinate Marwan, they seriously wound him, since they regard him, like Averroes, as impious. Nasser comes to his aid, and Averroes treats him; Marwan survives his injuries. For political reasons, Sheikh Riad and al-Mansur want the attackers executed. But when one of them is captured, Averroes sentences him only to prison, believing that the real culprits are those who indoctrinate them. Nevertheless, in keeping with the sect’s rule in such cases, they commit suicide—or are “made to commit suicide” by the sect. Meanwhile, Joseph realizes that Averroes’s works are threatened by the influence the sect now has over Mansour, and hides them shortly before a fire breaks out at the philosopher’s home. Backed by Nasser and other disciples, he then begins copying the works to preserve Averroes’s thought. Abdellah, now a “religious fanatic” like them, might go down the same path, so Marwan captures him in order to free him against his will. The sect’s emir takes revenge by having Marwan killed, which finally opens Abdellah’s eyes, and he feels guilty. Joseph fails to get a copy of the books safely to Languedoc, but Nasser takes another copy to Egypt. As the Christians threaten the caliphate, al-Mansur, seeking to appease the fundamentalists and mobilize the people, orders all of Averroes’s works burned and banishes him. As Averroes is about to go into exile with his family and Marwan’s, he is told that Nasser has succeeded. His work is thus saved. Meanwhile, al-Mansur also becomes aware of the plot and traps Sheikh Riad: pretending to thank him for what he has accomplished, he asks him to continue his struggle by joining the front lines of the army with his men as it prepares to fight the Christians, implicitly condemning him to death. The film ends with a quotation, followed by Youssef Chahine’s signature.