“Sound idea,” I concurred, trying to avoid getting sucked into the project.
Michel explained, “All right. We’ll write a book condemning Islamic civilization because it did not marginalize madness. Had reason prevailed in our civilization, madness would have been marginalized, and because madness has not been marginalized our civilization has became illogical.”
“Great, great,” shouted Nunu and almost sat on Michel’s lap. He laughed loudly, stood up, clapped, and went to the bar. Nunu got up as well. They danced and swayed for joy, holding up their whiskey glasses and drinking to structuralism and the death of existentialism. This crazy man was dreaming of changing the viewpoint of the whole Arab population, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Gulf, by having them adopt structuralism. Men would shave their heads and wear gold-framed glasses. Women would cut their hair short like boys and wear pants. I didn’t know how to get out of my predicament. I stood up and began dancing with them, drinking to the health of the newborn structuralism. I was shouting, dancing, and rocking back and forth. The chairs in the living room were overturned, and the servants looked on in shock. When both Nunu and Michel fell to the floor, I opened the door and ran as fast as I could.
One day I was walking down the street and saw a black and white stork land on the Turkish embassy. I crossed the street under a soft sun. Traffic was moving smoothly, and I heard the voices of the newspaper salesmen and cigarette merchants and the car horns all around me. A man in white headgear was walking in front of me. He was holding a string of prayer beads, and a woman wrapped totally in black walked behind him. Someone shouted, “Sheikh Jamal, Sheikh Jamal.” I don’t know why, but at this exact moment I thought of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and how Ismail Hadoub might have been influenced by him. Guided by this philosopher he would likely be wearing a white turban and holding prayer beads, while Nunu would be walking behind him wrapped in black from head to toe.