First Comics News; Who is Ameena?
Marwan El Nashar: Ameena is the fictional sister/wife (as was the norm back then) to the Pharaoh of the Exodus who according to some theories is Mernpetah the son Ramses II (the Great) so in the book she is the Queen of Egypt, leader of teh Jinn Warriors & arch nemesis to the 1st horseman who is actually Mernpetah. Her name Hodat-Ameena, where Hodat means enlightened (by God) and Ameena works as Amen & Ameen/a in Arabic trustworthy (the A is for the feminine)
1st: Who is Haredi?
Marwan: Haredi is a completely fictitional character, his name alludes to Haredism meaning “He who trembles/shivers in the sight of God” and is a devout sect in Judaism…Haredi is also a name from south of Egypt and if often associated with chivalry
1st: I notice that he “His life intertwines with that of the Virgin Maryam and her son Jesus Christ so that he aids in their escape during the Massacre of the innocence and eventually dies on the cross instead of Christ.” I have two questions about this. First why Maryam instead of Mary?
Marwan: As you can tell I’m BIG on names, so Mary is basically the abbreviation of Maryam which appears in original old Hebrew text as well as the Christian Coptic Bible that being the main christian sect of the Middle East with a Pope based in Egypt
1st: Second, in the Jinn Warrior universe, Jesus didn’t die on the cross?
Marwan: Yes, however that is based on teachings of Islam which state JC as a prophet and a messenger from God sent with the Gospels, yet he is just a man (not God incarnate or son of God) and that God spared him the torture & humiliating death & lifted him to the heavens…as people crucified the ‘wrong’ person…in JW that would be Haredi. A similar story is mention in the Gospel of Bernabas , where it was Judas himself that appeared to look like JC which also explains why the apostles & even his mother ‘denied’ JC.
1st: Who is Metellus?
Marwan: Also a a fictional character, a decorated Roman commander who refused to obey the unjust orders of his commander/father turning him into a traitor & barely escaping with his life. He ends up in Mecca & eventually saves the life of the prophet Mohamed.
1st: How do you mix the Tanakh, Qur’an and Holly Bible into the story?
Marwan: Originally, I started out with quoting only the Quran, mainly to give credibility to the Jinn & their world – especially that Satan is a Jinni and NOT an angle. However & since the essence of the series is to demonstrate human solidarity & that the three Abrahamic religions have the same roots & same message it became evident that I have to incorporate the holy books, so I did.
1st: So Ameens is related to Mosses, Haredi is with Jesus and Metellus was with Mohamed?
Marwan: Exactly
1st: What brings the three of them together?
Marwan: On one part its Dues Ex Machina as they are ‘chosen’….yet they also elect to unite realizing that they have much more in common than they have differences, they are not each others enemy (not that traditionally these three civilizations did not get along) but rather its Satan who seeks but to divided & conquer, hence our slogan “together we stand, divided we fall”
1st: Who is Iblis?
Marwan: Satan…he was the first Jinni, much like Adam was the first human…both residing in Eden but his jealousy of the human drove them both out & spun this ongoing ‘war’ between man kind & Iblis’ tribe, the shaitans which are Jinn who’s objective is to allude & misguide humans.
1st: What do the Jinn Warriors hope to accomplish of the eleven chapters?
Marwan: Main aim is to bring humans together as to defeat Satan, yet neither sides can control our free will & so its almost always a tie. In the final chapter we will see the physical battle of Armageddon in both dimensions, but also we will see the metaphysical battle of Amygadalen, the battle within.
1st: How long have you been working on the project?
Marwan: Since 2007
1st: Did you find that publishers didn’t want to get involved with a project that was so religiously based?
Marwan: US publishers did not want such a ‘controversial & complicated’ project, I had two publishers in Indonesia (where is was rendered) basically fighting over it…MIZAN publishing wants to publish it before year end.
1st: What brought you to kickstarter?
Marwan: Rejections from publishers & realizing that I might need to self-publish
1st: If you didn’t pledge at Kickstarter can you order through Diamond?
Marwan: I probably would but it would have made all that much harder/challenging
1st: How far along are you with the eleven chapters?
Marwan: JW1, The Devils War is done & will be on book shelves 12.9.12.The 4 origins series scripts are complete (Ameena, Haredi, Metellus & Jinnses), JW6 The Fourth Horseman script will be completed by year end.
1st: When all eleven chapters are published, doesn’t the first chapter actually become the first story?
Marwan: Chronologically when all is said & done the order is Jinnses, Ameena, Haredi, Metellus, The Devil’s War, The Fourth Horseman, JW7-11
1st: Does publishing the stories in non-chronological order make it difficult for the readers to follow the story?
Marwan: Maybe yet I think the JW fan is more sophisticated than the average reader & will enjoy the mystery of it all, plus, appreciate the reason for doing so…that is starting chronologically would seem slow & boring as I attempt to introduce each character as opposed to starting with WWII
1st: When does the second issue come out?
Marwan: Spring/summer 2013….now here’s a question for you! Would you rather read Ameena Origins or The Fourth Horseman…as a demand driven publisher we will follow the fans directions going forth…so what’s your opinion?
1st: What is the coolest thing about Jinn Warriors?
Marwan: Its a reality-based fantasy….so nothing in the books are that ‘far fetched’…from the Jinn & Jinn world, to the four horsemen, to martyred warriors still alive in an unseen dimension! Wait till you read my Jinn related interpretation of Vampires & Werewolves.
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