Deciding on modern Arab political figures to substitute for the Caliph and Wazir

Originally, I was going to use King Salman of Saudi Arabia as the country is no stranger to controversy in western media. Additionally, Saudi has a long (and very current) history of executions, which is a subject that is brought up in this story. 

However, during a studio session, one of my Tutors suggested I use Bashar Al-Assad, president of Syria. I thought this was a great idea as Syria is currently being reported on a daily basis in British newspapers, due to the Syrian refugee situation.

Additionally, from prior knowledge about the Syrian revolution during the Arab Spring, I knew that Al-Assad would be a perfect visual icon to represent Caliph Harun Al Rashid, as in the story the Caliph is indecisive and constantly calling for execution, making him dislikable to readers - a opinion shared by news media and Syrian activists.

As for Wazir Ja'afar, I decided to use Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid Muallem as the modern equivalent. I wanted to keep the Syrian leader theme consistent, and Walid Muallem is a good example of an assitant to Bashar Al-Assad.