Since the 1980s, it has become commonplace to include a
Saracen (Muslim) among the Merry Men, a trend that began with the character
Nasir in the 1984 ITV
Robin of Sherwood television series. Later versions of the story have followed suit: the 1991 movie
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and 2006
BBC TV series
Robin Hood each contain equivalents of Nasir, in the figures of Azeem and
Djaq, respectively.
[68] The 1990s BBC
sitcom Maid Marian and her Merry Men parodied the Moorish character with Barrington, a
Rastafarian rapper played by
Danny John-Jules.
[71] The latest movie version, 2010's
Robin Hood, did not include a Saracen character. The character Azeem in the 1991 movie
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was originally called Nasir, until a crew member who had worked on
Robin of Sherwood pointed out that the Nasir character was not part of the original legend and was created for the show
Robin of Sherwood. The name was immediately changed to Azeem to avoid any potential copyright issues.