trip to Lepcis Magna, the protagonist is astonished at Ustath Rashid’s cultural knowledge, to his bond with Kareem and his students as well as his hatred for violence. “At times I used to wish that Baba was more like Ustath Rashid.” (29) Suleiman learns that becoming a man means to have all of those traits, while staying strong to one’s standing position. Glued to his television screen, he pictures the perfect role model being the one who can utter a “No.”(115) in an emotionless matter, after hearing