Al Mualim serves as Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's mentor and Assassin Bureau leader in the original Assassin's Creed.
Al Mualim is the master of the Assassin stronghold at Masyaf during the game's Third Crusade setting. After Altaïr breaks the Brotherhood's rules during an early mission, Al Mualim strips him of rank and equipment. He then sends Altaïr to eliminate a series of targets, making the assignments both a punishment and a path toward restoring his status.
The name means “the teacher” or “the master” in Arabic. The character is loosely connected to historical accounts of Rashid ad-Din Sinan, a leader associated with the Syrian branch of the Nizari Ismailis, but the game's Al Mualim is a fictionalized character within the series' alternate history.
Players sometimes confuse Al Mualim with the real-world figure or with later Assassin mentors. The original game presents him as Altaïr's immediate superior and as a major force shaping the opening and ending of Altaïr's story.