Recently in a controversial, as well as coincidental
and unfortunate turn of events, on WWE\'s Smackdown!
program that airs in the greater part of New York on
UPN 9, the character Muhammad Hassan took part in a
storyline with another character known as the
Undertaker. In this storyline, Hassan, a wrestler of
Arab descent, \"choked-out\" The Undertaker with help
from several men who were dressed in black turtleneck
shirts, fatigue pants, and black ski-masks. These men,
although they really were by no means terrorists or
even Arabian men, were seen as such. The storyline
continued with the masked men carrying out in
sacrificial fashion another Arab American character
named Daivari. Controversial as that may be, the
unfortunate coincidence of it all was that this aired
on the same day as the London bombings, July 7th,
2005, later that evening. WWE pre-tapes its Thursday
evening show which airs on UPN 9 at 8 P.M. on
Tuesday\'s, so in reality, this storyline had already
occurred before WWE or any of its employees &
entertainers even knew about the unfortunate attacks
on London later that week. This includes the man who
portrays Muhammad Hassan on television.
Muhammad Hassan is being singled out and being
victimized by the coincidental occurrances of July
7th. UPN 9 has recently declared that they want
nothing more to do with the character of Muhammad
Hassan on their television programming, henceforth
leaving the WWE in a creative bind. They are being
forced now to completely remove and rid their very own
programming of the Muhammad Hassan character
altogether.
This petition is to keep this character on TV. This
petition is to keep the WWE\'s rights to broadcast
their own talents on television, but more importantly
this petition is to keep our own rights in tact. We as
viewers of the WWE programming have the right to pick
and choose what we watch, who we watch, when we want
to watch it. The WWE is entitled to create whatever
character and to portray that character in any fashion
they so please as long as it is in good taste and not
offensive to the majority of the viewers. I myself
have been a viewer of WWE programming for over 15
years, and there have been many storylines that could
have been considered offensive and went \"against the
American grain\", but those characters weren\'t pushed
off WWE television. in the early 1990\'s, WWE had Sgt.
Slaughter who supported Iraq during the Gulf War. Was
he banned from TV No he wasn\'t, and if he was, did
WWE listen Certainly not, in fact he was their World
Heavyweight Champion! In Late 2003 all the way through
to the present 2005, WWE had character going by the
name of \" La Resistance.\" These men were French
Men/Supporters who were fully behind France and fully
against The United States of America when France
refused to be our allies in war. Did they get banned
no. If they did, did WWE remove them off tv certainly
not. In fact they became multi-time Tag Team champions
for the company.
These are just a few examples of many characters who
over the years have been anti- american, such as the
Muhammad Hassan character is. Hassan is an
entertaining heel character that we love to hate, and
he should not be denied his chance to practice his
profession of choosing here in the United States.
Therefore, I ask that you please put your name and
where you are from on the list. Please forward this
message to anyone you know is supportive of the WWE
ans professional wrestling.Anyone who just would like
to be of assistance, keep the petition going. Do not
let the media control what we watch now. First it\'ll
be Muhammad Hassan, then what We as fans of the
product wish not to see Muhammad Hassan pushed off of
programming, so this is our way of speaking out. This
is directed to the WWE: DON\'T GIVE IN TO THE PRESSURE,
KEEP HASSAN ON TV. HE\'S ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
CREATIONS THE WWE CURRENTLY HAS.
this is directed to the media and the public who want
WWE to change their ways: LEAVE THE FANS OF
PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING, THE WWE, AND MUHAMMAD HASSAN
ALONE. LET US ENJOY WHAT THE WWE PRODUCES. IF YOU DON
LIKE IT, DONT WATCH IT!
I\'m sure there are many Arab American fans who are
upset by this move and the loss of one of the few Arab
American wrestlers there are right now. I\'m Puerto
Rican, just for the record, and I know what\'s right
and wrong here. Thank you all for your time, keep the
message strong!
The feedback regarding this storyline continues to highlight the complex tension between scripted television and real world events. I am gathering the common arguments presented by those who have signed this petition to better articulate our position to the network.
November 19, 2005
The response to this campaign indicates a strong desire for clarity regarding the recent developments involving Muhammad Hassan. Your collective engagement demonstrates that the nuances of this situation are recognized by a wide audience. We are now preparing to present these concerns to the network management.
6 Comments
K
Kevin Reyes
21 years ago
Featured
BRING HASSAN BACK!!!
D
David Carter
21 years ago
Featured
Worst decision ever by the network. He was the best thing about smackdown hands down.
J
Jason Gallagher
21 years ago
Featured
Honestly it was bad timing but you cant blame the guy for a script he had no control over. The wwe writers did this not him.
S
Sarah Collins
21 years ago
Featured
This is totally unfair. He is playing a character. UPN needs to grow up and realize it is a show not reality.
M
Mike Ortega
21 years ago
Featured
it was just a coincidence. people need to stop taking tv so serious. let the guy work he was doing great heel work.
C
Chris Walton
21 years ago
Featured
So dumb. They act like he actually caused the attacks. It was pre-taped! Fix this mess now.
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Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Recently in a controversial, as well as coincidental
and unfortunate turn of events, on WWE\'s Smackdown!
program that airs in the greater part of New York on
UPN 9, the character Muhammad Hassan took part in a
storyline with another character known as the
Undertaker. In this storyline, Hassan, a wrestler of
Arab descent, \"choked-out\" The Undertaker with help
from several men who were dressed in black turtleneck
shirts, fatigue pants, and black ski-masks. These men,
although they really were by no means terrorists or
even Arabian men, were seen as such. The storyline
continued with the masked men carrying out in
sacrificial fashion another Arab American character
named Daivari. Controversial as that may be, the
unfortunate coincidence of it all was that this aired
on the same day as the London bombings, July 7th,
2005, later that evening. WWE pre-tapes its Thursday
evening show which airs on UPN 9 at 8 P.M. on
Tuesday\'s, so in reality, this storyline had already
occurred before WWE or any of its employees &
entertainers even knew about the unfortunate attacks
on London later that week. This includes the man who
portrays Muhammad Hassan on television.
Muhammad Hassan is being singled out and being
victimized by the coincidental occurrances of July
7th. UPN 9 has recently declared that they want
nothing more to do with the character of Muhammad
Hassan on their television programming, henceforth
leaving the WWE in a creative bind. They are being
forced now to completely remove and rid their very own
programming of the Muhammad Hassan character
altogether.
This petition is to keep this character on TV. This
petition is to keep the WWE\'s rights to broadcast
their own talents on television, but more importantly
this petition is to keep our own rights in tact. We as
viewers of the WWE programming have the right to pick
and choose what we watch, who we watch, when we want
to watch it. The WWE is entitled to create whatever
character and to portray that character in any fashion
they so please as long as it is in good taste and not
offensive to the majority of the viewers. I myself
have been a viewer of WWE programming for over 15
years, and there have been many storylines that could
have been considered offensive and went \"against the
American grain\", but those characters weren\'t pushed
off WWE television. in the early 1990\'s, WWE had Sgt.
Slaughter who supported Iraq during the Gulf War. Was
he banned from TV No he wasn\'t, and if he was, did
WWE listen Certainly not, in fact he was their World
Heavyweight Champion! In Late 2003 all the way through
to the present 2005, WWE had character going by the
name of \" La Resistance.\" These men were French
Men/Supporters who were fully behind France and fully
against The United States of America when France
refused to be our allies in war. Did they get banned
no. If they did, did WWE remove them off tv certainly
not. In fact they became multi-time Tag Team champions
for the company.
These are just a few examples of many characters who
over the years have been anti- american, such as the
Muhammad Hassan character is. Hassan is an
entertaining heel character that we love to hate, and
he should not be denied his chance to practice his
profession of choosing here in the United States.
Therefore, I ask that you please put your name and
where you are from on the list. Please forward this
message to anyone you know is supportive of the WWE
ans professional wrestling.Anyone who just would like
to be of assistance, keep the petition going. Do not
let the media control what we watch now. First it\'ll
be Muhammad Hassan, then what We as fans of the
product wish not to see Muhammad Hassan pushed off of
programming, so this is our way of speaking out. This
is directed to the WWE: DON\'T GIVE IN TO THE PRESSURE,
KEEP HASSAN ON TV. HE\'S ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
CREATIONS THE WWE CURRENTLY HAS.
this is directed to the media and the public who want
WWE to change their ways: LEAVE THE FANS OF
PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING, THE WWE, AND MUHAMMAD HASSAN
ALONE. LET US ENJOY WHAT THE WWE PRODUCES. IF YOU DON
LIKE IT, DONT WATCH IT!
I\'m sure there are many Arab American fans who are
upset by this move and the loss of one of the few Arab
American wrestlers there are right now. I\'m Puerto
Rican, just for the record, and I know what\'s right
and wrong here. Thank you all for your time, keep the
message strong!
The feedback regarding this storyline continues to highlight the complex tension between scripted television and real world events. I am gathering the common arguments presented by those who have signed this petition to better articulate our position to the network.
November 19, 2005
The response to this campaign indicates a strong desire for clarity regarding the recent developments involving Muhammad Hassan. Your collective engagement demonstrates that the nuances of this situation are recognized by a wide audience. We are now preparing to present these concerns to the network management.
6 Comments
K
Kevin Reyes
21 years ago
Featured
BRING HASSAN BACK!!!
D
David Carter
21 years ago
Featured
Worst decision ever by the network. He was the best thing about smackdown hands down.
J
Jason Gallagher
21 years ago
Featured
Honestly it was bad timing but you cant blame the guy for a script he had no control over. The wwe writers did this not him.
S
Sarah Collins
21 years ago
Featured
This is totally unfair. He is playing a character. UPN needs to grow up and realize it is a show not reality.
M
Mike Ortega
21 years ago
Featured
it was just a coincidence. people need to stop taking tv so serious. let the guy work he was doing great heel work.
C
Chris Walton
21 years ago
Featured
So dumb. They act like he actually caused the attacks. It was pre-taped! Fix this mess now.
BRING HASSAN BACK!!!