History has shown that giving into these protestors for the sake of diminishing their protests has the opposite effect of validating and enhancing their power. It is one thing to find the right chemistry of actors and directors, it is another thing entirely to add a surreal authenticity to a ‘legendary’ story for the sake of satisfying a grievance.
Yes, Hollywood has past history of seeking box office mojo over authenticity. John Wayne was ludicrous as Genghis Khan BUT Yul Brynner was successful as a Thai Emperor AND an American West gunfighter (YB was of Swiss, German, Russian and Russian-Eurasian descent).
He was stuning as an Egyptian, too ;-). If I recall correctly, he described his ethnicity as "Siberian."