SHOOTING THE MIDDLE EAST

In Joan Borsten’s article on the filming of “The Jewel of the Nile,” Michael Douglas is shown to be a man oblivious to humanity (“Romancing the Sands of Morocco,” June 23).

In a country of “20 million deeply religious Muslims, many of them very poor,” Douglas deigns to pay $2 a day to each of 2,500 extras so that he can shoot a film during the Muslims’ holy month of Ramadan.

Douglas is quoted as saying about his movie, “Perhaps the Arabs won’t like what we’ve done--it’s only natural for them to be sensitive,” and he goes on to show why he thinks that’s OK: After all, “Deliverance” riled rednecks and “China Syndrome” bashed big business.

My goodness. How can one’s mind function, festered by such logic? No wonder his company is called the Stone Group. And no wonder some executives call his production staff “The Jews of the Nile.” And no wonder we so misunderstand the peoples in the Middle East.

DON K. PIERSTORFF

Garden Grove