More recently, he also acted in the Turkish crime thriller "Kurtlar Vadisi Iraq" in 2006 and in "Pirates of the Caribbean" last year. Massoud arrived in İstanbul last week to perform in the upcoming Turkish movie "Kelebek" (Butterfly), directed by Cihan Taşkın. Massoud, who plays a modern Mevlevi cleric in "Butterfly," attended shooting sessions in the district of Kuzguncuk and at a glass-blowing workshop constructed in Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi (Mevlevi lodge). We followed the sessions and interviewed him during the breaks.

Massoud has received a lot of offers since his first Hollywood experience, including a part in George Clooney's Oscar-winner "Syriana." But Massoud notes that he would no way accept these offers, saying: "They would ask me to enact either an evil Arab sheik or a Muslim terrorist. I had to turn these offers down. These were offers not consistent to my culture and to my character as a Syrian actor. I was asked to betray my homeland and religion. If I had accepted these offers, a negative stance would have been taken against me. I am an artist whose mission is Islam. I am working for the Islamic faith." Massoud adds that this was the primary reason for him to accept the role in "Butterfly." He took the offer after reading the script. The screenplay is based on an attempt to change the general perception after Sept. 11 that "all Muslims are terrorists." You all know the story of the butterfly effect; even a small butterfly may create giant tornadoes through a set of consecutive waves. But this "Butterfly" does not lead to a tornado; quite the contrary, it smoothes down the reactions against Muslims.

At this point, Massoud says that Muslims have made some mistakes. "Yes, Sept. 11 was used against Muslims. It inflicted a great harm upon Islam. Remarks by some Muslims also contributed to this because they declared Sept. 11 as a victory against New York. These unfortunate remarks made the world opposed to Islam. Americans were given an excuse by these actions to denigrate Islam." According to Massoud, "Butterfly" is a movie produced for Muslims rather than for Americans or Europeans.

Massoud invites all to see the movie because it represents real Islam, stressing that viewers will get a sense of contemporary Islam with a firm stance in terms of traditions and customs in the movie.

‘Hollywood is a trap’

Even though he has received many offers not only from Hollywood but also from Europe, Russia and Egypt, Massoud does not consider himself as an international actor. To him, playing an act in a Turkish movie is what matters most because he thinks that Hollywood is a trap. "I would rather act in a Turkish movie than playing a part in a Hollywood production. Turkey is close to me by all means. This is not just a geographical proximity; but also is a cultural and religious affinity. A lot of people are not aware of this: Hollywood is a trap because they want you to detach from a lot of things; what makes you a person, your personality, society, environment and life. It wants you to become materialistic so that you get exhausted. I do not think that anybody with slightly nationalistic sentiments would comply with the demands of Hollywood. Almost all actors in the world dream of being part of Hollywood. But what matters here is what Hollywood means -- and not Hollywood itself. Before having dreams about it, you should inquire into what Hollywood actually is. Certainly it has some sort of appeal; but the price of this appeal is too much. This is not a price that an ordinary person could pay."

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