At a glance

Identifiers: Wikidata imdb
Review: Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

Images of Islam Law and courts Muslim minorities under non-Muslim rule

Screening Room

Format: Film · Muslim society as setting
Released: 1978 CE · 1398 AH†
Countries: US · GB
Languages: en (original) · tr (original)
Approach: journalism
Depiction of sacred figures: The Prophet: Not applicable · Companions: Not applicable · Imams: Not applicable

Where to watch officially: No official link recorded. · Listed, not endorsed.

Overview

Alan Parker's film about an American imprisoned in Turkey for smuggling; it became a reference in studies of the negative image of Turkey and Ottoman prisons. ¹ ²

People and things also explored

Reel Bad Arabs· The Siege· Traitor· Shahid· Sale of the prohibited· Burden of proof and oath· The Sanctuary of Medina· Hima (protected reserve)

Sources

Wikidata
IMDb

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Midnight Express”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/screen/al-azaba-1978/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-18.

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Reel Bad Arabs

The Media Education Foundation documentary built on Jack Shaheen's book documenting Hollywood's stereotyped portrayal of Arabs and Muslims across a thousand films.