Muhammad Hassan was an extremely controversial character when he debuted on Raw in late 2004, despite the fact that the character was (initially) very reasonable in what he was asking for. Hassan was an Arab-American who was pleading with WWE fans to treat him fairly after he had received hostilities in post-9/11 America. Fans were non-compliant and Hassan soon started to show his villainous ways. Although the character was Arab-American, he was actually played by Italian-American Mark Copani. Hassan was supposed to be his generations The Iron Shiek and was, believed it or not, once pencilled in to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Batista in Batista's home state of Washington. The switch would have provoked nuclear heat but Hassan's career ended before he could win the big one. The network that Smackdown was show on at the time (UPN) demanded that WWE remove Hassan from television after they ran an angle with terrorist overtones the day of the London Bombings. After The Undertaker had beaten Hassan's managed Daivari, Hassan began to 'pray' in the entrance way and The Undertaker was soon attacked by men in ski masks and garrotted with piano wire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw6naWylTrI That was the end of the Hassan character. WWE had to bow to UPN and increasing pressure from the mainstream media, who roundly condemned the airing of the angle. Hassan was squashed by The Undertaker at The Great American Bash and disappeared from WWE screens forever.
