The Emigrant (1994 film)

The Emigrant (Arabic: المهاجر, translit. Al Mohager) is a 1994 Egyptian film by Youssef Chahine. The film is listed in the Top 100 Egyptian films.

The release of this film, which is loosely based on the story of the Biblical Joseph, raised a storm of protest, since Islam forbids the visual representation of religious figures. This was despite the fact that Chahine changed the names of all of the characters and stripped the story of all its supernatural and miraculous elements. Joseph becomes Ram, Jacob becomes Adam, Potiphar becomes Amihar, and Potiphar's wife, unnamed in the Bible, becomes Simihit, the high priestess of the Cult of Amun. Joseph does not advance because of a miraculous ability to receive and interpret dreams, but because of his personal merits.

After achieving all necessary approvals from the censorship authorities, the film ran successfully in Egyptian cinema until a lawsuit initiated by a fundamentalist Islamist lawyer caused a temporary ban. After a year-long court battle, Chahine won the case, only to face a second ban resulting from a lawsuit initiated by a Christian lawyer who objected to the movie's many deviations from the Biblical account.