Historian and Crusades author Jonathan Philips agreed about the historical inaccuracies in the film.
Philips told the Telegraph that by portraying the Muslim leader Saladin as a hero, the filmmaker was following in the footsteps of both Saddam Hussein and Hafez Assad, the former Syrian dictator. Both dictators had commissioned huge portraits and statues of Saladin in order to bolster Arab Muslim pride.
“It’s Osama bin Laden’s version of history,” said Philips. “It will fuel Islamic fundamentalists.”
“What may be more unfortunate than the film itself is that untold numbers will believe it,” said Spencer.
Filmmaker, writer ‘try to hit the truth’
In an interview with Time Magazine in the fall, the film’s director said he thinks the controversy is unfounded. He said as a filmmaker, who works in fiction and not in documentary, “I try to hit the truth.”
The screenwriter, former journalist William Monahan, “always tried to read the primary documents. It's tricky, because you weren't there and you're not talking to anyone who was there," said Scott, whose credits include Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down.
"We try to show both sides in a very balanced light,” he said. “We employed Muslim actors in three major roles. Ghassan Massoud, who plays Saladin, is a Muslim scholar, and he was very happy with the balance."