chicago103
Member
One can infer from the discussion with Indiana in Raiders about the Ark that Sallah is a religious man, however what religion is he? The obvious answer seems to be Islam given that he is from Egypt which has a Muslim majority, on the other hand Egypt does have a significant Coptic Christian minority. Also the fact that Sallah seems rather westernized perhaps being partially of European decent (given that John Ryes Davies is British and that Sallah speaks very good English and sings HMS Pinafore "A British Tar" in ROTLA) increases the odds that he might be a Christian.
In the Last Crusade it is not clear like it was with Raiders and the Ark how Sallah felt towards the Holy Grail an explicidly Christian artifact. It is likely that Sallah's loyalty to Indy would mean that he would help him find the grail even if it is counter to his beliefs as a Muslim. At the end of the film he seems to look with amazment at the miraculous healing of Henry Sr., perhaps because someone of any faith would be amazed but it made me wonder if Sallah is a Christian. He does wear a red cap in Last Crusade which is called a fez but it is not explicidly tied with Coptic Christianity but rather used throughout the middle east and north africa. It is also possible that since Muslims consider Christians "people of the book" and Christ does have a role as a prophet in Islam that belief in miraculous powers in the Holy Grail is not incompatible with Islamic beliefs.
Maybe someone who has watched the movies even more often than me and has the DVD's has seen something in his house in Cairo or a nuance in something he says that gives a clue.
In the Last Crusade it is not clear like it was with Raiders and the Ark how Sallah felt towards the Holy Grail an explicidly Christian artifact. It is likely that Sallah's loyalty to Indy would mean that he would help him find the grail even if it is counter to his beliefs as a Muslim. At the end of the film he seems to look with amazment at the miraculous healing of Henry Sr., perhaps because someone of any faith would be amazed but it made me wonder if Sallah is a Christian. He does wear a red cap in Last Crusade which is called a fez but it is not explicidly tied with Coptic Christianity but rather used throughout the middle east and north africa. It is also possible that since Muslims consider Christians "people of the book" and Christ does have a role as a prophet in Islam that belief in miraculous powers in the Holy Grail is not incompatible with Islamic beliefs.
Maybe someone who has watched the movies even more often than me and has the DVD's has seen something in his house in Cairo or a nuance in something he says that gives a clue.