This movie gave me a first time in life experience!!

Rating: Null/10 (5 September 1999)

The boat was disappearing in the fog, the music was playing soft, and the people started getting up. The theatre lights turned on, declaring the "13th warrior" movie is over. My friends and I were looking at each other. We were all thinking the same. We wanted to get up, shout and let everybody know: "we are Muslims, we are Arabs!!"
For the first time in America, I feel this new kind of pride for the religion I follow, and for the language I speak. For the first time, I see a movie in public that makes me feel good about the place I come from.
The Muslim Arab in this movie did not drink or pursue women. He was not dumb, yet he was not evil or opportunist. He was not ignoble or mean. He was not weak or craven. He was the total opposite. He was a nobleman, a brave fighter, and a smart person. Above all that, he was religious.

It was really touching when we taught his group that he believes "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet." It was a special moment, before the last fight when they all knew they might die, when he walked to a corner, and bowed to God praying, and asking Allah for strength and power.
The story was fair also. It was not like one of those Rambo movies, where you have one hero and the rest are followers. All the 13 warriors had their moments in the movie. The 13th Arab Warrior was the narrator, and one of the main characters, but not the only hero.
Finally, I would like to encourage you all to go, watch the movie, and feel proud. I would like to thank Hollywood, for the first time, for the movie they released, "May Allah reward you for that."
Note: I'd like to clarify that "Arab" at that time didn't mean the race, but the language spoken. All Muslims were Arabs then, and people who became Muslims became Arabs too (since they learned Arabic). So, I'm not using the term "Arab" as a nationality pride, but just as a part of the Muslim character.