Syrian director tackles terrorism on TV

A Syrian director who received Islamic extremist death threats after a Ramadan TV series on suicide bombers is back with another blockbuster for this year's Mideast holiday season: This time, he characterizes terrorism as a global threat that hurts Muslims too.

Najdat Anzour, Syria's most renowned director, said he also wants the new series to drive home the message that Islam is a religion of tolerance and dialoguenot of violence.

"We should realize the size of the danger that engulfs the Arab nation," he told The Associated Press at his studio in Damascus.

Anzour's last series, "Al-Hour Al-Ayn," aired last year throughout the Middle East during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It told the story of five Arab families living in Saudi Arabia and the militants scheming to blow them up so they could collect rewards in heaven.

The series, aired by Middle East Broadcasting Corp., of Dubai, attracted tens of millions of viewers. It was broadcast in a prime time slot - just as Muslim families gathered to break their daily Ramadan fast after sundown.

AP