Azeem: A Hidden Hero in an Otherwise Mediocre Film

By Murad Amayreh

Muslim American screenwriter. 

Published by Dramaturgys 

In 1991, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was released to mixed reviews. The film is remembered mainly as a Hollywood cash grab, complete with toys and hit singles. It’s remembered more fondly, perhaps, by young Muslims who unexpectedly found a hero in Nottingham.

Azeem, played by Morgan Freeman, was Robin Hood’s Moorish companion. They were cell mates in the dungeons of Jerusalem, where Robin had been taken captive as a crusader in the fight to retake the Holy Land from the savage Saracens. I know what you’re thinking. Just bare with me. Robin frees Azeem, and they escape together. Azeem makes an oath to protect Robin until his vow is fulfilled. He accompanies Robin back to England, and this is where things become quite interesting and relatable for Muslim-Americans struggling to feel a sense of belonging. In England, Azeem faces racism and discrimination. Not only by enemies, but by so-called friends. It is how he responds to this that makes him one of the greatest and most underrated heroes in all of cinema.

Azeem doesn’t curse them back. He doesn’t cower or run away. He doesn’t yell and scream and demand equality and respect. First, because he genuinely doesn’t care what others think of him or his beliefs. On more than one occasion, he makes it clear that it’s only Allah's judgement that concerns him. Azeem feels no need to impress anyone. He doesn’t change his name or his clothing to “fit in”. While he carries himself with genuine humility, it’s clear that he has confidence in his beliefs and identity as a Muslim. He does, however, earn everyone's respect through his noble actions.

Despite being called a savage, he displays a high degree of sophistication and intelligence. He teaches them how to use technologies like lenses and explosive powder. He performs a surgery on a pregnant woman, saving both mother and child from certain death. He stops whatever he is doing to perform his daily prayers, refuses alcohol, and even teaches people about his faith. When asked by a little girl why God “painted” him, he responds by telling her that Allah loves wondrous variety. He’s also a badass warrior who fights with a scimitar and is considered to be the most capable fighter in the land. And when all seems lost, it’s Azeem who rallies everyone to join them in the fight against tyranny with a speech that would make Malcolm X proud.

One could imagine the impact that a character of this caliber would have on young Muslims in foreign lands struggling with their own identities. I’ve often wondered why there isn’t a film on Azeem himself. Personally, I’d love to see his backstory of which all that is known is that he was imprisoned over a woman whom he claimed was worth dying for. Or a film on his future.

Did he return to his home to fight for his beloved? Or did he adopt this foreign land as his new home? I may have come up with the subject of my next screenplay.

About the film*

“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (1991), directed by Kevin Reynolds and written by Pen Densham and John Watson, emerged as a lavish retelling of the Robin Hood legend, boldly framed within the context of the Crusades and cultural otherness. The film was produced by Pen Densham, Richard Barton Lewis, and John Watson under Morgan Creek Productions and distributed by Warner Bros.

Upon its wide release on June 14, 1991, the film debuted in over 3,175 screens and pulled in approximately $25.6 million during its opening weekend—the second-best opening ever for a non-sequel at that time. It went on to amass a worldwide gross of around $390.5 million, ranking it the second-highest-grossing film of 1991, just trailing “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”. On domestic soil, it earned roughly $165.5 million and achieved nearly $225.0 million internationally. For Morgan Creek Productions, this was a watershed moment: Robin Hood became one of their most successful films, propelling the company to new heights in the early 1990s.