Mohammed ben Kalish Ezab and Abdullah

Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab and Abdullah (Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab et Abdallah) are characters from "The Adventures of Tintin" series of classic comic books drawn and written by Hergé. It should be noted that the 'Ben' in English pronounced Arab names is the romanization of the Arabic "bin" or "ibn" which means 'son of ...', a common way of referencing someone in Arabic. Therefore if Hergé indeed followed common Arabic grammar then Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab in proper should be translated to Mohammed, son of Kalish Ezab. However, the name is obviously a pun as stated below. Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab is the gentle Emir of Khemed, and Abdullah is his extremely spoiled, mischievous, hyperactive son. The Emir is oblivious to his son's misbehavior, although Abdullah can be very frustrating and tiresome at times, as Tintin finds out when rescuing him in "Land of Black Gold". The Emir and his son reappear in "The Red Sea Sharks", when Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab is temporarily overthrown by his rival Sheikh Bab El Ehr. The Emir appears again in pages of the incomplete "Tintin and Alph-Art", where it is shown that he has become corrupt, flamboyantly attempting to buy the Eiffel Tower and the Centre Pompidou.

Abdullah is the Captain's biggest nightmare, spreading terror where he goes, preferably with classic gags like fake spiders and exploding cigars. In fact, Haddock so detests this young menace, he expresses concern regarding Tintin's friend Chang in the album "Tintin in Tibet". He asks Tintin if Chang is like Abdullah, upon which Tintin assures him that Chang is quite the opposite. Not taking Captain Haddock's fears into account, Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab has sent Abdullah to live with Haddock at Marlinspike Hall at points of unrest in Khemed.

Haddock and Abdullah's rendezvous can be compared to the ones between Dennis Mitchell and George Wilson.

The Arab-sounding name of the Emir is a pun on the marollian (a Brusselian local dialect) "Kalische Zap" (licorice juice), while his appearance is modelled on King Saud of Saudi Arabia [Michael Farr, "Tintin: The Complete Companion", John Murray, 2001.] . Abdullah's appearance was modelled on Faisal II of Iraq son of king Ghazi of Iraq.

References