This section of the reading is highly important because the exile of Hassan from his community and his arrival in Rome. He is exiled due to his allegiance for his brother who was accused of murder and subsequently dismissed from his community. A Sicilian pirate named Pietro Bovadiglia eventually abducts Hasan to be an offering to tofor his crimes.
While in Rome Hasan meets Pope Leo X and proclaims in front of him“God is great.” He comes to learn that his time in Rome will be spent learning and teaching. He must learn Latin, catechism, gospel, Hebrew and Turkish. In return he must teach Arabic to seven students. Although Hasan was technically in captivity mentions his time was “without pain for the body and highly profitable for the mind.”
I found it interesting how receptive Hasan was to his captors and similarly how much interest the Romans took in Hasan. I found myself wondering If I were put in a situation like this would I be able to gracefully accept my captor’s will as Hasan did.
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I also found Hasan's acquiescence surprising. He just accepts his captivity, without a thought for his wife, or his children he hasn't even seen his eldest daughter for 8 years. He doesn't even mention his family throughout the entire year of his captivity. Though he may not have been free to leave until the Pope granted him permission, I wondered how he was able to so easily adjust to living in such a foreign culture. And yes he is used to traveling, so much to the point that he really has no homeland, I still wonder at how quickly he came to love the Pope like a father.
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