Salim al-Kupar

"Why did my skill have to be climbing? Why not sleeping?!"

- Salim, while bugging Miss Decibel's office

Salim al-Kupar is Sly Cooper's ancestor from Arabia. He was often said to hold the stealth of 40 thieves. His first full appearance was in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.

While once a dashing thief in his younger years, age and the loss of his gang has turned Salim into a lazy, unmotivated individual. However, when Sly Cooper's gang arrives in his time, he begrudgingly returns to thievery to save his friends and even by the end of their time together feels sad to see the gang go. After this one final heist, Salim settled down to run a camel-based snack selling business; one which allowed him to nap for large portions of the day.

He was voiced by.

Early life
Salim was a member of a gang called the Forty Thieves, the gang was formed by Salim in 960 AD when Salim was 20 years old. Most of them soon retired and several died off, leaving Salim and three others to go on one last heist.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Sly met Salim as he traveled back in time to the enchanted world of ancient Arabia – a land of magic genies, flying carpets and lost treasures. Sly quickly discovered that Salim was nearing retirement and looking forward to taking a little break from thievery, but recent events had put an end to those plans.

Salim was on a quest to free one of the members of his band of thieves from a strange imprisonment. To do so, he used his signature ability — the Climbing Cobra. This technique allowed him to rapidly ascend vertical ropes, chains or poles to quickly evade an attack. This came in very handy as he made his way through this snake-infested rug shop.

Salim had his own personal flying carpet. While Sly had the paraglider, Salim got his own exclusive flying transport. The magic carpet gave Salim the ability to glide his way across gaps and evade his enemies with ease in Arabian style.

He later appears in the last level to retrieve Sir Galleth's cane, then disappears back to his time.

At the end of the game, Salim finally retired from thieving and took a long nap. Then he dreamed up a lucrative new business. Parking his camel around town, he sold snacks to hungry customers, and it was highly successful.

It wouldn't be long before Salim passed away, whether by natural causes, or by Clockwerk.

Cooper Vault
Salim's section of the Cooper Vault showcased his scimitar-like cane, his treasures and an Arabian oil lamp, once presumed to hold a mystic genie. It also had obstacles which tested the intruder on their cane skills.

In Thieves in Time, his weapon has changed from a large scimitar-like cane to one that more closely resembles the classic cane.

Physical appearance
Salim was a purple colored raccoon who wore a white turban which was decorated with a red and white feather and a blue diamond. He had two rings on each ear and wore a white, long sleeves shirt, a yellow/golden sleeveless jacket, patched green baggy pants and pointy red shoes.

Personality
Salim is quite lazy. He constantly complains and wishes that he wasn't the one performing complex climbs. Salim seems to care deeply for the members of his gang, as Salim was in hiding thinking of a plan to free them (despite his laziness). He constantly references his glory days, as seen in "Rug Rats" when he starts babbling to Bentley about a flying carpet scam that him and the owner of the carpet store pulled off, only stopping when Bentley scolds him for it.

Salim is much grumpier and less cheerful than the other Coopers, and, despite believing Sly's claim to be related to him, did not give Sly an enthusiastic welcome when he met him. He has an appetite to rival Murray's, though he has very low body fat despite his inactivity.

Abilities

 * Climbing Cobra technique: This move allows Salim to rapidly climb ropes and poles to quickly evade an attack.
 * Cane Swat Combo: Salim can press then  to release a gold storm attack.
 * Mega Charge Attack: By holding long enough then releasing it, Salim can unleash a whirlwind attack that can knock down foes.
 * Flying Carpet: Press and hold to use it the same way as Sly's paraglider.
 * His Stealth Slam traps any unlucky guards he uses it on in his magic lamp.

Trivia

 * Salim's physical appearance in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a stark contrast with how he was depicted in previous games, where he is young, tall, and muscular. This is due to the fact that he is in his early 60's during the events of the game.
 * Right after the gang bring Salim back to the hideout he does not trust them. As such, before his trust is earned, in the hideout he is seen with his back turned to the gang and snacking on something.
 * Salim has purple fur, which is different out of most of the other Cooper ancestors.
 * Salim is one of only two playable Cooper ancestors that does not have brown fur in-game, with the other being Sir Galleth Cooper.
 * He is also one of only two playable Cooper ancestors that does not have brown fur in the cutscenes, with the other being "Tennessee Kid" Cooper.
 * Salim is one of four Coopers in the game to have the same fur color in both gameplay and cinematics. The other ones are Rioichi Cooper, Bob Cooper and Sly Cooper.
 * Salim's signature color is teal.
 * Salim is the only Cooper ancestor who didn't need to be rescued upon his first meeting.
 * As shown in the intro cutscene of the Arabia level in his youth, Salim's cane was silver rather than gold, and with a different design.
 * His section of the Thievius Raccoonus was stolen by Clockwerk, the leader of the Fiendish Five, although this was not revealed in the first game.
 * Salim's section of the Thievius Raccoonus likely detailed climbing on miscellaneous objects, such as ropes and ladders, as his signature move is an extension to that.
 * It is likely that he came in contact with genies:
 * His old thief outfit has magic abilities and was said to be made by a genie.
 * He owns a magic carpet, which acts very similar to Sly's paraglider.
 * This could possibly be a reference the the magic carpet from Arabian Flights, an episode in Sucker Punch's first title, Rocket: Robot on Wheels.
 * He uses magical abilities when fighting and even uses a magic lamp.
 * The year in which Salim is encountered, 1001 AD is likely in reference to the 1001 Nights, a collection of stories from Arabia; hence the English name, the Arabian Nights.
 * 1001 AD is earlier than the other times visited in the game (except 10,000 BC) yet Salim is capable of the moves added to Thievius Raccoonus by Cooper members after his time.
 * Salim does not have his own coughing sound. When Salim is hit by a lizard guard's gas attacks he makes the coughing motion but does not make a sound. And when he is hit by a rat trooper guard's gas based attacks he also does the motion but he makes Sly's coughing noise.
 * He is the only ancestor to be shown in three different stages of his life: young (Thieves in Time), in his prime (Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus to Sly 3) and old (Thieves in Time).
 * If you highlight Salim while in the Safe House, he will quickly motion to the left with his thumb, with the intention being to get you to play as someone else.
 * Salim and Rioichi Cooper are the only two playable ancestors in Thieves in Time to not have a Gadget Meter.
 * They are also two of only three playable characters in the same game to not have a Gadget Meter, the third being Carmelita Fox.
 * Salim did not know what jelly was until Bentley explained it to him and he was disgusted by it.
 * He grew to dislike rock and roll music after hearing it.
 * Salim is thus one of the three total characters in the series not to like rock music, along with Miss Decibel and Don Octavio.

Appearances

 * Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
 * Fully restored Thievius Raccoonus cutscene
 * Sly 2: Band of Thieves
 * "A Shadow from the Past" (cutscene)
 * Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
 * P. "Beginning of the End" (cutscene)
 * 6. "Honor Among Thieves" (section of Cooper Vault)
 * Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
 * P. "Prologue" (cutscene)
 * 4. "Of Mice and Mechs" (cutscene)
 * 5. "40 Thieves"
 * "Rug Rats" (Playable debut)
 * "Heavy Metal Meltdown"
 * E. "Epilogue"