American Dervish

While attending a college basketball game, Hayat Shah orders two bratwursts for his friends and a beef dog for himself. The vendor mistakenly gives him a bratwurst made of pork. Hayat decides to eat the pork and feels relieved that no harm came upon him for eating the forbidden meat. 

The following morning, Hayat hurries to his Survey of Islamic History class with Professor Edelstein, who has challenged Hayat’s Muslim upbringing throughout the semester. In class, Hayat sits near Rachel and chats with her about the class reading assignment, a passage from the Quran. Hayat had memorized the reading as a child. 

Professor Edelstein lectures the class about his colleague’s discovery of the Sanaa manuscripts, a collection of discarded pieces from an ancient version of the Quran. The content of these manuscripts varies from the commonly used version of the Quran, suggesting that the holy book was not divinely inspired, as most Muslims believe. 

One of the three Muslim students in the class asks why Edelstein’s colleague has not published his research. Edelstein answers that the nation of Yemen might censor the manuscripts once they learn of their controversial content. The student, incensed, leaves the class, and a quiet Muslim student follows him.