Rami Character Analysis

The subject of Bayoumi’s final portrait, Rami is a devoutly religious Palestinian American teenager who has decided to dedicate his life to Islam. He wants to teach Muslims to live more virtuously and show the West that Islam is, in the vast majority of places and forms, a peaceful and community-oriented religion. He is physically imposing, a star football player in high school. But, when his father goes to prison, he turns his energy to religion, which offers him a sense of fulfillment and solace he sees nowhere else. In college, he befriends Ezzat and Mohammad, who are also pious and ethically-minded; the three hope to do their part spreading peace, good will, and wisdom among Muslim and non-Muslim communities alike. With Mohammad, Rami runs a nonprofit website that sends copies of the Qur’an to anyone who requests one, which he considers a form of da‘wa (missionary work). At the end of Bayoumi’s portrait, Rami gives an eloquent speech about life and death at a mosque. He starkly contrasts with the common American picture of a devout Muslim, which associates religious conservatism with violent fundamentalism, and his aspiration to heal a Muslim community that has lost its moral compass and an American community that has lost its sense of compassion offers a kind of hope that is increasingly rare in the tense, divided world of post-9/11 America.