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Summary of The Imam and The Indian by Saher Hiba Khan
Summary of The Imam and The Indian by Saher Hiba Khan
When the narrator went to meet the Imam, he was received with respect but not with warmth. It was
meant to be because first meetings are always awkward. When the Imam was asked about his herbs and
traditional ways of his healing, the Imam diverted the conversation on how he’s learning to use
injections. He asked if he could show his skill on the narrator to which the narrator declined. The
meeting ended with the Imam offended.
The narrator met Khamees, the rat quite causally while taking a walk through the rice fields. He was
called a rat because of his way to eat things with his tongue; like a rat did with his teeth. Khamees
laughed at everything. The reason of his name. He asked the narrator about the rituals of Indian culture
in which people burn the dead and how cows are worshipped. Over which he made fun by saying, “were
they short of Kindling? Or was it to escape the day of Judgement? Everyone laughed away at this and
some were very shocked. The narrator protested over some of the notions but he knew he wouldn’t be
taken seriously. Gradually they became good friends.
After a month or so, he and Khamees were coming back to the village and saw the Imam sitting on the
steps of the Mosque with an old man. Khamees asked upon a favour from the narrator to ask the Imam
if he could treat his sick wife upon which he went and striked up a conversation. The Imam tried to
ignore the narrator. He started to taunt the narrator over his inability to read Arabic and over his
countries way of disposing the dead and worshipping of cows. He accused him and his country of still
being a prisoner of primitive and savage ways whereas the west was quite progressive with its guns,
bombs and tanks.
This irritated the narrator to the extent that an argument between him and the Imam took place and
everyone gathered around. Before the things start to heat up, Khamees led away the narrator to his
home and served him dinner. And asked him not to bother about it. He offered to visit the country but
reluctantly said that if he dies, he should be buried and not burnt.