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Bartemius Crouch Senior: "Oh and I've been wanting a word with you too, Arthur. Ali Bashir's on the warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets."
Arthur Weasley: "I sent him an owl about that just last week. If I've told him once I've told him a hundred times: Carpets are defined as a Muggle Artefact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, but will he listen?"
Bartemius Crouch Senior: "I doubt it. He's desperate to export here."
Ludo Bagman: "Well, they'll never replace brooms in Britain, will they?"
Bartemius Crouch Senior: "Ali thinks there's a niche in the market for a family vehicle. I remember my grandfather had an Axminster that could seat twelve--but that was before carpets were banned, of course."
British Ministry of Magic's embargo on flying carpets[src]

Ali Bashir was a saleswizard and merchant who eagerly wanted to export flying carpets to Britain. He contacted Arthur Weasley several times, attempting to persuade him to allow the importation of carpets, but Mr Weasley told him that carpets were defined as a Muggle Artefact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects and thus banned. Despite the fact that brooms were the preferred method of transportation for wizards in Britain, Bashir was confident that flying carpets could still be marketed there as a family vehicle.[1] He was eventually caught trying to smuggle carpets into the country.[2]

Etymology[]

"Ali" means "lofty, sublime" in Arabic. Ali was a cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the fourth caliph to rule the Muslim world. His followers were the original Shiite Muslims, who regard him as the first rightful caliph. This name is also borne by the hero in 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'. Also, Muhammad Ali was the name adopted by boxer Cassius Clay when he converted to Islam. Bashir is an Arabic surname commonly used in Western Asia, North Africa and Southern Asia.

Behind the scenes[]

  • He is most likely from Arabia, given his name, and that flying carpets are a popular form of transportation there.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 7 (Bagman and Crouch)
  2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 23 (The Yule Ball)
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