In late 2004 vignettes began airing showcasing an angry Arab-American and his colleague, both claiming to search for freedom from the stereotypes their people gained after the 9/11 attacks in America, which had occurred three years prior. This would signal the birth of 2005′s most controversial story in wrestling, the rapid rise and fall of the character known as Muhammad Hassan.
During his short stint on our screens Hassan garnered hatred the bad guys of today dream of in their sleep. The man behind the Khafia, Marc Copani received unimaginable levels of heat from crowds across America, becoming the subject of death threats, angry letters, complaints from the Muslim-American community and even a write-up in The New York Post.
Inside the ring the character was also seeing success. Hassan would pick up victories against the likes of Big Show, Batista, Chris Jericho, Sgt. Slaughter and Chris Benoit, even challenging for the Intercontinental and WWE Championships, against Shelton Benjamin and John Cena respectively. In a world of kayfabe the Muhammad Hassan was striving, but behind-the-scenes nothing could be further from the truth.
Under increasing pressure from UPN and scrutiny in mainstream media, after an incident on Smackdown which saw several men dressed in ski masks assault The Undertaker before lifting Daivari to safety from a brutal assault at the hands of The Deadman, coincidentally the London Bombings took place, the day Smackdown went to air.
UPN, which is now defunct, refused to show the Muhammad Hassan character on their television network again, so despite his success the Hassan character was ended at the 2005 Great American Bash, suffering to the hands of a Last Ride through a stage girder. Marc Copani would not be seen on WWE programming again and has since left the professional wrestling business.
I recently spoke to Marc on his time in the WWE as Muhammad Hassan, whether he looks back on this time with satisfaction or regret, where he is now and what hes doing, plus Marc answers questions asked by users of r/SquaredCircle on Reddit.com, plus more!
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Q) How did the idea for the Muhammad Hassan character come about, and what was your initial reaction when they approached you with it?
It came from the offices. Jim Cornette came to me one day and said Do you want to play an Arab? I thought it was funny but was so ready to move up I took the role. Cant remember my exact response but it was probably a mixture of excitement to get the role and laughter because someone thought I looked Arab.
Q) Did you expect the rather aggressive reaction you got while touring across America? From your debut you and Daivari were two of the top bad guys in the company.
We were told what could happen. Road agents prepared us for it the best they could but I doubt they knew what was coming. People hated us because we werent playing just Arabs anymore but Arab-Americans and we were telling a story which can be seen even in society today.
Q) During your time there you got to work with a slew of big names and at several big events, including an appearance at Wrestlemania 21. Looking back what was your favorite moment?
Well Wrestlemania was great for me because it was my first interaction with Hulk Hogan. Then we got to work with him a bit more due to the rivalry with Shawn Michaels. Id say just working with those two at the same time was it. At that time I was on cloud nine.
Q) The hatred fans had for your character was so fierce, Ive read that death threats were even mailed to WWE Headquarters but were snuffed out before reaching you. Did you become accustomed to stuff like this?
Yes death threats, phone calls and angry letters. I never adjusted to it but instead ignored it. None got to me. I was busy dealing with people at live events who would reach out to try and punch me. We were walking on thin ice and in my naivety at the time didnt even realize it.
Q) The Muhammad Hassan character would be axed from network television after the incident on Smackdown with The Undertaker, you would eventually leave the company and now have no active affiliation with wrestling. Looking back on it, are you satisfied with the experience or do you regret it?
People remember me for it, it was an envelope pushing character that really got under the skin of viewers and audiences, but I was very young and it hindered everything. I was in WWE for less than a year and so much had happened. When the character finished so was I. Im so happy to look back on that period in my life and say I did it though, I had my moment of fame but it wasnt for me.
Q) On the topic of your leave, your final WWE promo saw you respond to an article by The New York Posts Don Kaplan which implied that you, despite actually being an Italian American, were a terrorist simply due to you portraying an Arab American character. Was that last promo meaningful to you?
Actually yes it was. It was in-character as Muhammad Hassan but I felt like I spoke for common sense that night. There was no script or guidelines set for me I was told to go out and speak my mind which is what I did. Don didnt do his research and really throughout all the backlash and media uproar he is the one who got it most wrong.
Q) I have some questions here from users of Reddit.com, StephenTStone asks did WWE have any long-term plans for the character?
I was booked to feud with Undertaker through to Summerslam, after that they had a plethora of different ways to take me. Id heard discussions involving my name and titles too but it never became a formal discussion.
Q) UltraMittens says, please tell me you and Daivari were best friends?
Haha He and I keep in contact. We worked a convention in Philadelphia together about a year ago and we got a great welcome from fans and legends. The only person more hated during that time than me was Dara, he put up with just as much criticism.
Q) ChuckZombie asks, if you were ever given the chance to play the character again and maybe redeem it, would you?
Ive done two wrestling related appearance since quitting wrestling. I got a lot of compliments from people and I get asked this question all the time but my answer will always be no. I know the common response is never-say-never but my life is a lot different now and there just isnt room for Muhammad Hassan.
Q) And MikeKillam asks, do you hold anything against the American people and news networks for treating your character so harshly because of his race, so soon after the 9/11 tragedy?
No I have no hard feelings. My job was to entice people into hating me and I did that from my first appearance. Problem was we didnt know where the limit was and we passed it very early on. We didnt just make Americans mad but actual Muslims and Arab-Americans who found my portrayal inaccurate.
Q) Where did life take you post-wrestling, and where has it brought you?
It took me to Los Angeles, I had a small run as an actor and writer which eventually brought me back to Shad Gaspard who was in WWE with me. He had a screenplay that sucked so I rewrote it haha We got it published just after the summer of 2011 with Blackline Comics and its doing really well, were very proud of it. Weve talked with studios about film adaptions, animators about cartoon adaptions. Its great.
And aside from that Im a high school history teacher, also currently completing a degree in college.
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if only he embraced the taliban fukkery