The (Islamic) Empire Strikes Back
A century earlier in the same empire, the poet Abu Nuwas manages to have fun with his apostasy. Whatever chaps the Islamic hide, from masturbation to drunkenness to homosexuality, Abu Nuwas writes about.
The story is told of an imam who begins to read from the Qur’an in the mosque. When the imam gets to the line, “Oh, you infidels!”, Abu Nuwas shouts out, “Here I am!”
That tears it. He’s dragged to the authorities by an angry mob, who assume he’s a follower of Manichaeism, a rival religion. They give him the standard test, ordering him to spit on a portrait of the prophet Mani, founder of Manichaeism. I’ll do you one better, he thinks, then sticks his finger down his throat and vomits on the portrait.
Confused, the magistrates release him, never considering that he might find Mani and Muhammad equally daft.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In