UFV | UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE VIÇOSA/ Campus Rio Paranaíba

Disciplina: Inglês I
Prof. Luís André Nepomuceno

Aula 7 What we know about Islam

______________________________________________________________________

A man prays during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice, at Jama Masjid in New
Delhi on Oct. 6, 2014. Eid al-Adha marks the end of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Photo:
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images. https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-reformation-for-islam-1426859626

Table of contents

1. The Prophet Muhammed and the Origins of Islam

2. Annemarie Schimmel. Rumi
3. Film review: “The physician”
4. Video. Young Muslim Americans react to Islamophobia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pPStKJ3OeQ

1
 The Prophet Muhammad and the Origins of Islam
https://www.metmuseum.org/learn/educators/curriculum-resources/art-of-the-islamic-world/unit-
one/the-prophet-muhammad-and-the-origins-of-islam

The Prophet Muhammad flies over houris in Paradise harvesting flowers, Persian 15th century.
https://dianadarke.com/tag/angel-gabriel/

[I. INTRODUCTION]

The rise of Islam is intrinsically linked with the Prophet Muhammad, believed
by Muslims to be the last in a long line of prophets that includes Moses and Jesus. Be-
cause Muhammad was the chosen recipient and messenger of the word of God through
the divine revelations, Muslims from all walks of life strive to follow his example. After
the holy Qur'an, the sayings of the Prophet (hadith) and descriptions of his way of life
(sunna) are the most important Muslim texts.

Early Life

Muhammad was born into the most powerful tribe in Mecca, the Quraish, around
570 A.D. The power of the Quraish derived from their role as successful merchants. Sev-
eral trade routes intersected at Mecca, allowing the Quraish to control trade along the
west coast of Arabia, north to Syria, and south to Yemen. Mecca was home to two widely
venerated polytheistic cults whose gods were thought to protect its lucrative trade. After
working for several years as a merchant, Muhammad was hired by Khadija, a wealthy
widow, to ensure the safe passage of her caravans to Syria. They eventually married.

Divine Revelations

When he was roughly forty, Muhammad began having visions and hearing
voices. Searching for clarity, he would sometimes meditate at Mount Hira, near Mecca.

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On one of these occasions, the Archangel Gabriel (Jibra’il in Arabic) appeared to him and
instructed him to recite “in the name of [your] lord.” This was the first of many revela-
tions that became the basis of the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. These early revelations
pointed to the existence of a single God, contradicting the polytheistic beliefs of the pre-
Islamic Arabian Peninsula.

Initially overwhelmed by the significance of what was being revealed to him,

Muhammad found unflinching support in his wife and slowly began to attract followers.
His strong monotheistic message angered many of the Meccan merchants. They were
afraid that trade, which they believed was protected by the pagan gods, would suffer.
From that point forward, Muhammad was ostracized in Mecca. For a time, the influence
and status of his wife and his uncle, Abu Talib, the chief of the clan, protected Muham-
mad from persecution. After they died, however, Muhammad's situation in Mecca be-
came dire.

The Hijra

Emigration became the only hope for Muhammad and his followers' survival. In
622, they headed to Medina, another oasis town, where they were promised freedom to
practice their religion. The move from Mecca to Medina is known as the hijra—the
flight—and marks year 1 of the Islamic, or hijri, calendar.

Spreading the Message of Islam

In Medina, Muhammad continued to receive divine revelations and built an ever-

expanding community around the new faith. The conflict with the Quraish continued,
but after several years of violent clashes, Mecca surrendered. Muhammad and his fol-
lowers soon returned and took over the city, destroying all its pagan idols and spreading
their belief in one God.

The Night Journey and Ascension of the Prophet

Accounts of the ascension (mi'raj ) of Muhammad have captured the imaginations

of writers and painters for centuries. One night, while the Prophet was sleeping, the
Archangel Gabriel came and led him on a journey. Mounted on the heavenly steed Bu-
raq, Muhammad traveled from the Ka'ba in Mecca to the "Farthest Mosque," which Mus-
lims believe to be the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. There he prayed with other proph-
ets such as Moses, Abraham, and Jesus, and ascended to the skies, where he was led by
Gabriel through Paradise and Hell, and finally came face to face with God. He then re-
turned to earth to continue spreading the message of Islam. According to Islamic belief,
Muhammad was the only person to see Heaven and Hell while still alive.

[2. AFTER THE PROPHET’S DEATH: EMERGENCE OF SHI'I AND SUNNI SECTS OF ISLAM]

When Muhammad died in 632, he had not named a successor. One faction, the
Shi'a, believed that only individuals with direct lineage to the Prophet could guide the
Muslim community righteously. They thought that ‘Ali, Muhammad's closest surviving
blood male relative, should be their next leader (caliph). The other faction, the Sunnis,
believed that the Prophet's successor should be determined by consensus and succes-
sively elected three of his most trusted companions, commonly referred to as the Rightly

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Guided Caliphs (Abu Bakr, ’Umar, and ‘Uthman), as leaders of the Muslim community;
‘Ali succeeded them as the fourth caliph.
Today the Islamic community remains divided into Sunni and Shi’i branches.
Sunnis revere all four caliphs, while Shi’is regard ’Ali as the first spiritual leader. The rift
between these two factions has resulted in differences in worship as well as political and
religious views. Sunnis are in the majority and occupy most of the Muslim world, while
Shi'i populations are concentrated in Iran and Iraq, with sizeable numbers in Bahrain,
Lebanon, Kuwait, Turkey, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad

Featured in this unit are several depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. These
portrayals, while somewhat rare, are not unheard of as there were (and still are) many
different attitudes toward depicting the Prophet, and humans in general, in the Islamic
world. These attitudes varied dramatically from region to region and throughout his-
tory; the societies that produced the works discussed here are among those that allowed
the depiction of the Prophet. Commissioned by Muslims for Muslims, these images ap-
pear in biographies of the Prophet and his family, world and local histories, and accounts
of Muhammad's celestial journey (mi’raj), as well as in literary texts. In each context, they
serve a distinct purpose. They illustrate a narrative in biographies and histories, while
in literary texts they serve as visual analogues to written praises of the Prophet. An im-
age of the Prophet Muhammad at the beginning of a book endows the volume with the
highest form of blessing and sanctity. Thus, illustration of him was a common practice,
particularly in the eastern regions of the Islamic world.

The Prophet Muhammad receiving his first revelation from the Angel Gabriel, Tabriz 1307, Edinburgh University li-
brary. https://dianadarke.com/tag/angel-gabriel/

[III. THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM]

The Five Pillars are the core beliefs and practices of Islam:

1. Profession of Faith (shahada). The belief that “There is no god but God, and
Muhammad is the Messenger of God” is central to Islam. This phrase, written in

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 Arabic, is often prominently featured in architecture and a range of objects, in-
cluding the Qur’an, Islam's holy book of divine revelations. One becomes a Mus-
lim by reciting this phrase with conviction.
2. Prayer (salat). Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-
afternoon, sunset, and after dark. Prayer includes a recitation of the opening
chapter (sura) of the Qur’an, and is sometimes performed on a small rug or mat
used expressly for this purpose. Muslims can pray individually at any location
or together in a mosque, where a leader in prayer (imam) guides the congrega-
tion. Men gather in the mosque for the noonday prayer on Friday; women are
welcome but not obliged to participate. After the prayer, a sermon focuses on a
passage from the Qur’an, followed by prayers by the imam and a discussion of a
particular religious topic.
3. Alms (zakat). In accordance with Islamic law, Muslims donate a fixed portion of
their income to community members in need. Many rulers and wealthy Muslims
build mosques, drinking fountains, hospitals, schools, and other institutions both
as a religious duty and to secure the blessings associated with charity.
4. Fasting (sawm). During the daylight hours of Ramadan, the ninth month of the
Islamic calendar, all healthy adult Muslims are required to abstain from food and
drink. Through this temporary deprivation, they renew their awareness of and
gratitude for everything God has provided in their lives—including the Qur'an,
which was first revealed during this month. During Ramadan they share the hun-
ger and thirst of the needy as a reminder of the religious duty to help those less
fortunate.
5. Pilgrimage (hajj). Every Muslim whose health and finances permit it must make
at least one visit to the holy city of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia. The Ka'ba,
a cubical structure covered in black embroidered hangings, is at the center of the
Haram Mosque in Mecca. Muslims believe that it is the house Abraham (Ibrahim
in Arabic) built for God, and face in its direction (qibla) when they pray. Since the
time of the Prophet Muhammad, believers from all over the world have gathered
around the Ka'ba in Mecca on the eighth and twelfth days of the final month of
the Islamic calendar.

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 Rūmī
Annemarie Schimmel. Former Professor of Indo-Muslim Culture, Harvard University. Author of
Gabriel's Wing; Islamic Calligraphy; and others.
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rumi

Topkapi Palace Museum/Public domain. Unknown author.

https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/rumi-poet-spiritual-love/

[I. INTRODUCTION]

Rūmī, in full Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, also called by the honorific Mawlānā, (born c.
September 30, 1207, Balkh [now in Afghanistan]—died December 17, 1273, Konya [now
in Turkey]), the greatest Sufi mystic and poet in the Persian language, famous for his
lyrics and for his didactic epic Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī (“Spiritual Couplets”), which widely
influenced mystical thought and literature throughout the Muslim world. After his
death, his disciples were organized as the Mawlawiyyah order.

Rūmī’s use of Persian and Arabic in his poetry, in addition to some Turkish and
less Greek, has resulted in his being claimed variously for Turkish literature and Persian
literature, a reflection of the strength of his influence in Iran and Turkey. The influence
of his writings in the Indian subcontinent is also substantial. By the end of the 20th cen-
tury, his popularity had become a global phenomenon, with his poetry achieving a wide
circulation in western Europe and the United States.

Early life and travels

Jalāl al-Dīn’s father, Bahāʾ al-Dīn Walad, was a noted mystical theologian, author,
and teacher. Because of either a dispute with the ruler or the threat of the approaching
Mongols, Bahāʾ al-Dīn and his family left their native town of Balkh about 1218. Accord-
ing to a legend, in Nīshāpūr, Iran, the family met Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār, a Persian mystical

6
poet, who blessed young Jalāl al-Dīn. After a pilgrimage to Mecca and journeys through
the Middle East, Bahāʾ al-Dīn and his family reached Anatolia (Rūm, hence the surname
Rūmī), a region that enjoyed peace and prosperity under the rule of the Turkish Seljuq
dynasty. After a short stay at Laranda (Karaman), where Jalāl al-Dīn’s mother died and
his first son was born, they were called to the capital, Konya, in 1228. Here, Bahāʾ al-Dīn
Walad taught at one of the numerous madrasahs (religious schools); after his death in
1231 he was succeeded in this capacity by his son.

A year later, Burhān al-Dīn Muḥaqqiq, one of Bahāʾ al-Dīn’s former disciples,
arrived in Konya and acquainted Jalāl al-Dīn more deeply with some mystical theories
that had developed in Iran. Burhān al-Dīn, who contributed considerably to Jalāl al-Dīn’s
spiritual formation, left Konya about 1240. Jalāl al-Dīn is said to have undertaken one or
two journeys to Syria (unless his contacts with Syrian Sufi circles were already estab-
lished before his family reached Anatolia); there he may have met Ibn al-ʿArabī, the lead-
ing Islamic theosophist whose interpreter and stepson, Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qunawī, was Jalāl
al-Dīn’s colleague and friend in Konya.

[II. THE INFLUENCE OF SHAMS AL-DĪN]

The decisive moment in Rūmī’s life occurred on November 30, 1244, when in the
streets of Konya he met the wandering dervish—holy man—Shams al-Dīn (Sun of Reli-
gion) of Tabrīz, whom he may have first encountered in Syria. Shams al-Dīn cannot be
connected with any of the traditional mystical fraternities; his overwhelming personal-
ity, however, revealed to Jalāl al-Dīn the mysteries of divine majesty and beauty. For
months the two mystics lived closely together, and Rūmī neglected his disciples and
family so that his scandalized entourage forced Shams to leave the town in February
1246. Jalāl al-Dīn was heartbroken, and his eldest son, Sulṭān Walad, eventually brought
Shams back from Syria. The family, however, could not tolerate the close relation of Jalāl
al-Dīn with his beloved, and one night in 1247 Shams disappeared forever. In the 20th
century it was established that Shams was indeed murdered, not without the knowledge
of Rūmī’s sons, who hurriedly buried him close to a well that is still extant in Konya.

This experience of love, longing, and loss turned Rūmī into a poet. His poems—
ghazals (about 30,000 verses) and a large number of robāʿīyāt (“quatrains”)—reflect the
different stages of his love, until, as his son writes, “he found Shams in himself, radiant
like the moon.” The complete identification of lover and beloved is expressed by his
inserting the name of Shams instead of his own pen name at the end of most of his lyrical
poems. The Dīvān-e Shams (“The Collected Poetry of Shams”) is a true translation of his
experiences into poetry; its language, however, never becomes lost in lofty spiritual
heights or nebulous speculation. The fresh language, propelled by its strong rhythms,
sometimes assumes forms close to popular verses. There would seem to be cause for the
belief, expressed by chroniclers, that much of this poetry was composed in a state of
ecstasy, induced by the music of the flute or the drum, the hammering of the goldsmiths,
or the sound of the water mill in Meram, where Rūmī used to go with his disciples to
enjoy nature. He found in nature the reflection of the radiant beauty of the Sun of Reli-
gion and felt flowers and birds partaking in his love. He often accompanied his verses
by a whirling dance, and many of his poems were composed to be sung in Sufi musical
gatherings.

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 A few years after Shams al-Dīn’s death, Rūmī experienced a similar rapture in
his acquaintance with an illiterate goldsmith, Ṣālāḥ al-Dīn Zarkūb. It is said that one day,
hearing the sound of a hammer in front of Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn’s shop in the bazaar of Konya,
Rūmī began his dance. The shop owner had long been one of Rūmī’s closest and most
loyal disciples, and his daughter became the wife of Rūmī’s eldest son. This love again
inspired Rūmī to write poetry.

After Ṣālāḥ al-Dīn’s death, Ḥusām al-Dīn Chelebi became his spiritual love and
deputy. Rūmī’s main work, the Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī, was composed under his influence.
Ḥusām al-Dīn had asked him to follow the model of the poets ʿAṭṭār and Sanāʾi, who
had laid down mystical teachings in long poems, interspersed with anecdotes, fables,
stories, proverbs, and allegories. Their works were widely read by the mystics and by
Rūmī’s disciples. Rūmī followed Ḥusām al-Dīn’s advice and composed nearly 26,000
couplets of the Mas̄navī during the following years. It is said that he would recite his
verses even in the bath or on the roads, accompanied by Ḥusām al-Dīn, who wrote them
down. The Mas̄navī, which shows all the different aspects of Sufism in the 13th century,
often carries the reader away with loose associations of thought, so that one understands
what subjects the master had in mind at a particular stage of his life. The work reflects
the experience of divine love; both Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn and Ḥusām al-Dīn were, for Rūmī, re-
newed manifestations of Shams al-Dīn, the all-embracing light. He called Ḥusām al-Dīn,
therefore, Ḍiyāʾ al-Ḥaqq (“Light of the Truth”); ḍiyāʾ is the Arabic term for sunlight.

Death and legacy

Rūmī lived for a short while after completing the Mas̄navī. He always remained
a respected member of Konya society, and his company was sought by the leading offi-
cials as well as by Christian monks. His burial procession, according to one of Rūmī’s
contemporaries, was attended by a vast crowd of people of many faiths and nationalities.
His mausoleum, the Green Dome, is today a museum in Konya; it is still a place of pil-
grimage, primarily for Turkish Muslims.

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 POEM
Two Kinds of Intelligence
Rūmī

A seventeenth-century illustration for Rumi’s epic poem “Masnavi”

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM.
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-erasure-of-islam-from-the-poetry-of-rumi

There are two kinds of intelligence: one acquired,

as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional sciences
as well as from the new sciences.
With such intelligence you rise in the world.
You get ranked ahead or behind others
in regard to your competence in retaining
information. You stroll with this intelligence
in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more
marks on your preserving tablets.

There is another kind of tablet, one

already completed and preserved inside you.
A spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness
in the center of the chest. This other intelligence
does not turn yellow or stagnate. It’s fluid,
and it doesn’t move from outside to inside
through conduits of plumbing-learning.
This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.

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 FILM REVIEW

The Physician
Peter Debruge. Available at: https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-the-physician-
1201371944/

Arriving in U.S. theaters a week before Exodus, this robust period epic offers a more skeptical
view of religion’s role in world history.

For those who miss the substance and scope of films like “Lawrence of Arabia”
and “The Man Who Would Be King,” Philipp Stoelzl’s “The Physician” restores one’s
faith in the medium — if not necessarily one’s faith in faith. A hearty historical epic that
pits intellectual progress against the stifling influence of world religions, this absorbing
adaptation of Noah Gordon’s international bestseller — better known abroad, where the
film has earned more than 3.5 million admissions, airing on German television in its full
four-hour form — tells of a lowly English urchin who travels halfway around the globe
to study under Persian thinker Ibn Sina.

Though never widely embraced in the States, Gordon’s immersive 1986 novel
introduced world readers to medieval hero Rob Cole, a Christian lad so committed to
advancing the sorry state of 11th-century medicine that he disguised himself as Jewish
(going so far as to perform his own circumcision) and schlepped across the desert, bat-
tling sandstorms, superstition and plagues in an effort to illuminate the Dark Ages. At a
time when adaptations of anything other than Bible stories and comic-books seem rare,
such a robust project should be celebrated, making it easy to overlook a certain corniness
that comes with territory.

We meet Rob as a child, helpless to cure the mysterious condition that ails his
mother — and resentful of the local priest who warns that any attempt to interfere with
God’s will is tantamount to “witchcraft.” Rob has been born with a unique gift, though

10
most would probably consider it a curse, which allows him to detect grave illness merely
by touching another. But at a time when medicine is mistaken for black magic, there is
little he can do for those he diagnoses … and so his mother is allowed to die, leaving Rob
an orphan.

The young lad attaches himself to Barber (Stellan Skarsgard, looking fittingly
haggard), a traveling sawbones whose methods are nothing short of barbaric: He sees
no cause to cure when he can amputate, and routinely ignores science, since showman-
ship clearly does more to impress the crowd gathered round his rickety cart-cum-oper-
ating room. Growing up fast, Rob (played from this moment forward by Tom Payne)
gleans what he can from Barber’s methods, dodging testy townspeople and distrustful
monks at every stop along their route.

Though unflatteringly portrayed, Christianity itself is not the antagonistic force

here, even as the film reveals ways that religious doctrine discourages new practices that
might serve to extend human life — still true today, as evidenced by the debates over
stem-cell research (though it should also be said that over the centuries, many hospitals
have been supported by religious groups). Whether home in England — where the living
conditions mirror the mud-caked squalor of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” — or
abroad in the relatively enlightened Persian city of Isfahan, Rob must contend with the
pervasive distrust of science.

Ultimately, his quest is one against ignorance, and resistance comes from Chris-
tian, Muslim and Jewish leaders alike, though the implication is that humans hide be-
hind such systems when they fear the unknown. In this respect, Rob is a pioneer, em-
barking upon a journey to the Orient at great personal risk in order to meet the legendary
Ibn Sina (Ben Kingsley), during which he rechristens himself Yassi Ben Benyamin for
safe passage. Though Stoelzl takes full advantage of his widescreen canvas from the be-
ginning, the desert interlude — heightened by the pic’s Maurice Jarre-like score — gives
“The Physician” a truly expansive feel.

From a casting perspective, landing Kingsley makes all the difference to the film.
The actor’s stature confers immediate respect upon the Persian philosopher, whom he
also imbues with uncharacteristic humility, embodying a teacher who seems equally ea-
ger to learn, making him an unlikely ally when Rob/Yassi’s behavior veers into taboo
territory: Acting on his own, the over-eager student dissects the corpse of a Zoroastrian
who has died of appendicitis, for which he is charged with necromancy — at least until
such time as his newfound knowledge helps to treat the shah (Olivier Martinez) for a
similar affliction.

Mixed in with such intrigues are a superfluous romantic subplot involving a sau-
cer-eyed Spanish beauty, Rebecca (Emma Rigby), betrothed to a Jewish aristocrat; an
elaborate scheme hatched by Muslim leaders to seize control of the city; and an outbreak
of the “Black Death” that demands quick thinking on the part of Isfahan’s top medical
minds to bring the pandemic under control. It seems frivolous for audiences to worry
whether Rob can consummate his love for Rebecca (or even whether she can survive the
plague) when an entire city’s lives are in danger. And yet, thanks to Payne’s eminently
relatable lead performance, Rob convincingly blossoms from lowly wretch to self-as-
sured (and somewhat entitled) hero over the course of the film’s 150-minute running
time.

11
 For all the effort put into re-creating the era in question — supported here by
awe-inspiring visual effects work by Pixomondo — Jan Berger’s script still relies on sim-
plistic emotional ploys and reductive characterizations (particularly problematic among
the sniveling stereotypes who serve as villains) to manipulate our feelings. But then,
such tactics proved perfectly acceptable in such hefty period offerings as “Braveheart”
and “Gladiator,” and “The Physician” truly is a comparable achievement.

12
 VIDEO
Young Muslim Americans react to Islamophobia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pPStKJ3OeQ

Character 1: Saif Hamideh, 23.

Character 2: Nawara Alawa, 24.
Character 3: Nour Samsa, 24.
Character 4: Nader Abbara, 21.

Character 1: Before September 11th, I really didn’t have any conception of me being dif-
ferent, and then it was directly after September 11th that for the first time I
felt singled out as a Muslim. Suddenly I was different.
Character 2: The worst feeling in the world when we hear about something like 9/11 or
San Bernardino or the Paris Attacks is that somebody who identifies as
Muslim committed those crimes.
Character 1: Anytime ISIS has had an attack, Muslims have to go on television, have to
go to their neighbors, they have to go to their schools, and explain to eve-
ryone that ISIS does not represent Islam.
Character 3: It is extremely frustrating that people think that there is a link between ISIS
and the Islam faith.
Character 2: It is a radical group and they do not understand the faith and what it stands
for.
Character 1: If you look at Islam and our text and our doctrine, Islam is a religion of
peace. There’s no violence, there’s no imperialism.
Character 3: Even within these attacks, many Muslims died. It’s not okay in any circum-
stances to kill innocent people. You know, ISIS just does not represent the
Muslim faith.
Character 4: I think a lot of people assume because we’re all from, you know, one faith,
or one community, that, you know, everyone’s the same, everyone thinks
the same.

13
Character 3: I think it’s a common misconception people assume like if you’re a Muslim
that means automatically you’re like adhering with every little part of your
faith. But it’s kind of like Christianity. Not every Christian goes to church
every Sunday, not every Muslim woman decides to wear a hijab.
Character 2: Muslim people, just like any type of person, we come in all shapes and sizes,
we look like different things, and I don’t like the traditional Muslim-Arab
girl.
Character 4: I don’t think I’m like anyone else. I certainly hope not.
Character 2: And some, when I see the world responding the way it does, and attacking
Muslims, it kind of makes me feel helpless because it’s not what Islam
stands for.
Character 1: I’m a victim of ISIS. Not only are they hurting my people, the American
people, not only are they fighting the ideals I stand for, ideals of liberal
democracy, but they’re also hurting my native homeland.
Character 3: All these horrible killings are not okay and they’re not reinforced by our
religion.
Character 4: Islamophobes or politicians who use these kinds of events and politicize
them, they ostracize our community as well, and it tends just to make me
feel like an outsider. You know, despite me being born and raised in Amer-
ica, sometimes it makes me feel like un-American.

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