02x03 - Little Omar

[bunniefuu]

- [UPBEAT MUSIC]

We're here at the recently
built Islamic center,

where a man who was
peacefully protesting

was beaten within inches of his life

by a man who had recently
converted to Islam.

I'm here with a member
of his congregation.

Now, how does your community feel

about this gruesome att*ck?

Well, right now, we're just
praying for the victim.

He deserves our love and prayers

even if he's a vocal opponent of ours.

And I just want to be clear
that the actions of Dennis

are so not what our crew is about.

We don't roll like that.

Well, you're a recent
convert yourself, yes?

Well, I actually like to think
of myself as a revert.

I was born Muslim, and I
just found my way back.

Well, I mean, first Jihadi John

and then your center's
very own Dennis...

do you think there's a
danger of white people

converting to Islam?

Whoa, whoa, no. No bueno, madam.

Well, well, I mean, I think
that's a legitimate question.

People are scared.

This was an isolated incident.

This guy just became a Muslim.

You know, I think, frankly,
it should be harder to join.

Ameen.

Your sheikh is really f*cking hot.

What are you doing here?

Mom sent me. Here, kushari.

Is she, like, freaking
out or something or...

I should probably introduce
myself to your sheikh.

No, this is a really sensitive
time, Dena. Don't...

Hey. As-salamu alaykum.

Wa alaykumu s-salam.

It's, like, such a sad situation,

and, um, I'm sure that my brother

had something to do with all of this,

so please let our family know
if there's anything we can do.

I could give you my number or,
like, whatever's best, email or...

Thank you.

Please give your family my salaams.

My daughter Zainab will reach
out if we need anything.

- As-salamu alaykum.
- Oh, wa alaykumu s-salam.

I might stop by the center,
uh, sometime too.

I've just had questions
about faith and stuff.

- Inshallah.
- DENA: Inshallah, yeah.

- God willing.
- Okay.

- All right. As-salamu alaykum.
- Yeah.

Hey, guys, it's still not
looking good in there.

Are they accepting visitors yet?

I'd love to pray by his side.

Right now, they're only
allowing family in there.

Look, they're freaked out...

everyone coming from the
mosque, people praying.

Somebody tried to give
the family a shawarma.

What I could do is, I could
try to talk to his brother

to get you guys in.

Just follow me.

I just want to prepare
you guys, mainly Ramy,

for what you're about to see in there.

The man is essentially brain-dead.

He's on life support,
a complete vegetable.

He's got lacerations all over his body,

and he's lost control of all
of his motor functions.

This isn't an easy image to take in.

Look, Sheikh, I know
you're spiritually strong,

and you got broad shoulders,
but look at this guy.

He's not ready. We went to the movies.

We saw Toy Story . He cried.

- It's not even the sad one.
- It's... it's really sad.

I'm sure there were
emotional moments, Doctor.

But may we go inside, please?

You cried at the previews.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[MONITOR BEEPING, RESPIRATOR HISSING]

- RON: Hi.
- SHEIKH: Good to meet you, sir.

- RON: Good to meet you.
- SHEIKH: Thank you for seeing us.

Ramy, Zainab, this is
Ron, Nico's brother.

It's an honor to shake your hand, son.

If it wasn't for you, that guy
would have k*lled my brother.

Uh, um, you're welcome, yeah.

I just, you know, um...
just had to do the right thing.

You know, just my instincts
kind of kicked in, yeah.

To be honest... [SCOFFS]

When I first came in here

and I saw you guys praying
in the waiting room,

I got f*cking mad.

I wanted to go in and
say, "Look, you know,

"no matter what you
do, when he wakes up,

he's not joining !sis."

- Yeah.
- RON: And I came back in here,

and I saw my brother laying in that bed,

and I realized that we could use

all the prayers that we could get.

So your prayers and sh*t,
if they work, we'll take 'em.

You mind if I pray at his bedside?

Knock yourself out.

Oh, God.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to
be a p*ssy or anything.

- It's okay, man.
- It's okay to be upset.

It's what you should be feeling.

Your English is actually pretty good.

Uh, why wouldn't her English be...

Thank you, Ron, I appreciate that.

I was actually born here.

You know, at the end of the day,

if Nico's time is up,

I know he d*ed doing what he loved.

That's... that's a good
way to look at it, yeah.

Is this shawarma spicy?

I mean, you put peppers
in it or anything?

ZAINAB: Uh, I don't
know. I didn't make it.

[HEARTBEAT THUMPING]

RON: There's this guy at work, Sandeep.

He's always eating this sh*t.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[CELL PHONE CHIMES]

ZAINAB: Are you ser... oh...

No.

Dad, uh...

Mr. Nabil's having second thoughts

about donating to the center.

Uh, "The recent negative
attention brought to the space

has made me rethink my investment."

I anticipated this.

I have to see him after
Ramy and I visit the jail.

- The... the jail?
- SHEIKH: Yes.

To see brother Dennis, your friend?

Oh, yeah, I mean, he... he's
not really, like, a close friend

or anything, honestly.

We grew up a couple towns
apart from each other,

so we didn't go to the same
high school or anything,

so it's not, like, that intimate.

Are you sure we're...
we're allowed to visit?

I... I thought it was family only.

We can visit, inshallah.

Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, inshallah.

Well, um...

how about I... I'll go, you know, and...

and then it sounds like you
have a lot to... to deal with,

so... and I'll tell him
you said salaam...

I appreciate that, but I'd
like to speak to him too.

Not only did that brother
just become a Muslim,

but he's in a lot of pain.

He needs us now more than ever.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, %.
- [CELL PHONE CHIMES]

Okay, Dad, I have to go back
to the center and make calls.

Take my car. I'll ride with Ramy.

Uh, actually, I don't
have a car right now.

Uh, I usually use my mom's, but, um,

I could call us a car, though.

Yeah, I can get us a...
like, an Uber or... or a Lyft.

I know both are morally compromised.

- ZAINAB: I will call a car.
- RAMY: Whichever you...

- Zainab...
- He doesn't want me

getting in cars with strangers.

It's the ultimate act of faith.

- [CELL PHONE CHIMES]
- ZAINAB: Okay, car's already here,

Melissa, blue Prius.

Wa alaykumu s-salam.

Well, Melissa sounds like
a really safe driver.

Probably very conscious, white,

so she'll probably stop at
stop signs, but she'll...

Okay.

[METALLIC CLANKING]

[LOUD CLANK]

[ELECTRONIC HUMMING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

- RAMY: Hey, man.
- DENNIS: As-salamu alaykum.

SHEIKH: Wa alaykumu s-salam, brother.

How you holding up?

DENNIS: Oh, man. I f*cked up.

I don't know what to say.

You don't have to say
anything right now.

Would you like to make prayer together?

Nah, I mean, yeah,
I do. It just... it...

When I first told Ramy

about everything that
happened over in Iraq,

he said, "Don't say nothing,"
but... [CLEARS THROAT]

All the people that I hurt...

you know, all these
people that I k*lled...

Yeah, you know, I... I think,
like the... the sheikh said,

you know, we don't really need
to say anything right now.

I think prayer is a really
good, uh, option for us.

Like a silent prayer.

Like, if anything,
you could just apologize

to God privately, you know?

Kind of just keep it
between you and Allah.

I think that would be, um...
be really beautiful, inshallah.

Man, you're like a modern-day
saint, you know that?

You told me that it didn't
matter how many people

that I k*lled, you know?

No matter what I'd done, like,

the... the people...
the kid I kidnapped...

RAMY: I don't... I don't think
you... you told me about that.

Oh, no, I definitely
told you about that.

Little Omar?

- Huh.
- You said it was all good.

Just... just don't say
nothing to nobody,

and we're gonna pull through this.

You know, I... I just think the
past is the past for all of us.

You know, I think we
can kind of just, like,

just keep... keep on moving.

See? He just keeps on pushing.

He just says it's okay, you know?

That's what you're always
like, and I appreciate.

That's why I love you, man.

But I still f*cked up.
I still let you down.

I f*cking... I hurt that guy bad, man.

And the worst part about it is Boomer.

f*ck!

Boomer?

Remember I told you about
Boomer, my dog, man?

She's locked up in my car.
She's been there for two days.

If... if she doesn't make it,
man, something happens to her,

I'm gonna go f*cking crazy, man.

I'm not gonna make it out of here, man.

- She's in your car right now?
- We'll find your dog, brother.

It's okay. Just tell us where it is.

DENNIS: I don't even know.
You know, I wasn't on my meds.

I been leaving my car in
this tent city in Newark.

We been out in the swamplands
in... in Green Village.

You know, we were driving
up these dirt roads.

I don't even know where
the f*ck we're going anym...

SHEIKH: Hey, hey, hey, hey,
hey, brother, calm down.

It's all right.

We'll find your dog, inshallah.

Just take some tea.

Details will come back to you.

Thank you, Sheikh.

[EXHALES HEAVILY]

I'm so glad I joined Muslim
before I came to prison.

You know, we look out for each other.

We got our own community.

I ain't gonna get r*ped
because of Islam, inshallah.

Wow, yeah, inshallah, man. That's, um...

that's a really... that's a
really good point, I think.

That's a beautiful part
of the faith... like,

we always say that, right?

Astaghfirullah.

Sheikh, you know, a... all that stuff

that Dennis said about
m*rder and everything,

I... I really didn't
know about any of that.

So I'm... I'm... I'm sorry.

- I just... it was...
- Uh-uh.

What?

It's not our time.

Oh, it's just, there... there's no cars,

so I thought that... that we could...

It's not our time.

Discipline, Ramy.

It's a muscle.

Yeah, I... look, Dennis is...

- he's just a complex guy...
- It's green.

RAMY: Uh, I, uh...
I think this is the spot.

He said it would either
be here or by Rutt's Hut,

and, um, I called them

and they said they didn't see a car.

SHEIKH: [EXHALES, GROANS]

RAMY: You... you sure we should get out?

Maybe we should keep driving.

It feels a little dangerous around here.

SHEIKH: Bismillah.

Hey, Sheikh, do you, uh...

do you want some of my mom's kushari?

Uh, I... I know we haven't
really eaten all day,

and it's still kind of warm.

It's best to move on a light stomach.

We eat after we find the car, inshallah.

Please pray, Ramy.

Make a dua for this dog.

Are we... are we supposed
to pray for dogs?

I... I thought dogs were haram.

- Who told you that?
- My parents.

But they also told me that
Pokémon cards are haram,

and I'm pretty sure Pokémon
aren't in the Koran.

SHEIKH: [SPEAKING ARABIC]

_

RAMY: Wait, it mentions Pokémon?

SHEIKH: It mentions a dog.

RAMY: Right.

SHEIKH: Our ummah often
doesn't understand

what is haram and what isn't.

Nothing in and of itself is haram.

It's a matter of how we
choose to engage with it.

Alcohol, for example, isn't haram.

Drinking it is.

The rules are very
important in our faith.

Not for the reasons you might think.

I was confused about this once too.

By the grace of Allah,
I found my teacher.

She taught me that Islam
was like an orange.

There's an outer part and an inner part.

If someone only got
the rules and rituals,

they might think Islam
was tough and bitter

like the outside of an orange.

But there's an inside, a juicy flesh,

the divine intimacy,
the spiritual experience.

The rind without the flesh
is bitter and useless.

The flesh without the
rind would quickly rot.

The outer Sharia protects
the inner spirituality.

And the inner spirituality
gives the outer Sharia

its purpose and meaning.

My teacher helped me
understand that I needed both.

RAMY: Yeah, I don't think we're
gonna find anything out here.

[SIGHS] I don't know, none
of these look like his car.

He said he had a Land
Cruiser, and I don't...

[SIGHS] I don't know.
Maybe it's by those tracks?

SHEIKH: We keep looking,
even if it takes all night.

I'm sorry, I feel like
this all my fault.

Like, all the bad attention
to the center and...

and this whole day, it's just...

Maybe we should just go back.

I... I don't think we're gonna
find anything on this track.

What about the dog, Ramy?

Look, how do we even
know the dog's real?

All right, Den... Dennis
hasn't been on his meds.

He just talks about a bunch of stuff,

and I've never even seen it.

Do you have to see something
in order for it to be real?

RAMY: [STAMMERS]

[CELL PHONE RINGTONE PLAYING]
SINGER: ♪ Allahu Akbar... ♪

Let's make isha.

Um, like... like, right now?

Just... uh, just 'cause we don't
have, like, a mat or anything...

Which way is the qibla?

Um, it's... qibla is that way.

Oh, yeah.

Okay, the thing is, I just...

I... I don't have any
water to make wudu,

and, uh, I... I farted back
there when we were walking.

So I don't even have
wudu 'cause of the fart.

You look at everything as a
blessing or a curse, Ramy.

The truth is, everything is both.

We have to see the
blessings in the curses

and be wary of the
curses in the blessings.

Both are from God.
Both are an opportunity.

What if this search for Boomer

isn't the burden you think it is?

What if it's a chance?

A chance to take responsibility
for your actions

instead of making excuses.

Tayammum.

We don't need water.

Say bismillah.

Mm.

[SPEAKS IN ARABIC]

RAMY: Oh, you... you want me to...

Okay, um...

[CLEARS THROAT]

[PRAYING IN ARABIC]

SHEIK: [SPEAKING ARABIC]

[SINGING IN ARABIC]

[DOG BARKING FAINTLY]

[SPEAKING ARABIC]

[BARKING CONTINUES]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[BARKING CONTINUES]

- This is it!
- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

Hey, hey, hey.

- RAMY: It's... it's locked?
- Yes.

RAMY: Oh, she's, like, covered in sh*t.

Oh, what if we, uh... as-salamu alaykum.

What if we break open in
the window with this?

- No, no, no, no, no, no.
- RAMY: No?

No. [BREATHING HEAVILY]

♪ ♪

[SPEAKING ARABIC]

♪ ♪

How... how'd you do that?

[CHUCKLES] It was unlocked.

- RAMY: Oh.
- SHEIKH: Stay, stay, stay, stay.

As-salamu alaykum. [CLICKING TONGUE]

Come on. Whoa.

Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah.

Let's get her cleaned up.
Come on, come on.

Come on.

Ramy, the most important
part of the bay'ah

is that the murid must always
be honest with the teacher.

RAMY: I... I know. I... I'm sorry...

SHEIKH: It's an essential
part of this relationship,

this partnership.

Perhaps we moved into this too soon.

W-what do you mean, too soon?

SHEIKH: It's clear you're not
ready to make this commitment.

All I asked of you was not to lie.

To always tell me the truth.

I... I know, and I'm... I'm sorry.

I was trying to impress you.

I... I should've told you
everything I knew about Dennis.

- I just... I just wanted to...
- Look, Ramy,

it's not even you.

It's my fault for giving
you too much too soon.

No, it is me. I... I know it's me.

And... and wallahi,
I... I won't lie to you again.

I know I can be better.

I don't think this is gonna work.

W-what you mean, like...

like, this bay'ah, like,
you... you being my teacher?

SHEIKH: Mm. No, I'm still bound.

I just think you should
study with someone else.

But I don't want another sheikh.

I... I want you.

I... I don't want this to
be, like, an open thing.

I want Boomer to be your teacher.

I want you to learn from this dog.

Look into her eyes.

All you see is purity, truth,

compassion, true love.

If you could become more like this dog,

I think you'd be on the path.

Follow her wherever she goes.

As-salamu alaykum.

_

Are you doing one of those
dog walking apps now?

No, no, guys, uh,

my sheikh gave me this
dog to take care of.

Take care of her?

_

_

_

Dad, I'm sure the sheikh has
some sort of wisdom behind us.

He's, like, a really,
like, profound guy.

Wisdom? [SPEAKING ARABIC]

_

Everything Ramy does is haram.

At least we get to play this with one.

The last time you wanted a dog,

it was when you were
in the fourth grade.

Remember when you were watching
that movie, what's it called?

Air Buddy, yeah, Air Buddy,

you know, the dog that, uh,
makes the basketball with his nose...

Mom, look, having a dog
isn't haram, okay?

I... I'm telling you, I spoke
about it with the sheikh.

Wallahi?

Okay?


She doesn't seem to know
how to play basketball.

[STAMMERS]

She speaks Arabic.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

SINGER: [SINGING IN ARABIC]

♪ ♪