American Dervish

During dinner at the Chatha residence, Mina meets Chatha’s recently divorced cousin Sunil. Mina seeks out the withdrawn and depressed man and shares about her own divorce. She singles him out later by serving dessert to him in front of the other men in attendance. 

Hayat’s father has forbidden further Quranic study. His mother asks him to keep his religious study to a minimum and not to bring up Nathan again. Hayat looks at Mina’s Quran and tells her that his father burned his copy. Crying, Mina says Naveed told her not to study the Quran with Hayat anymore and that she intends to obey him. 

Naveed’s drinking and bad temper worsen once Nathan takes a new job in Boston, ending his neurology partnership with Naveed to heal from his grief over Mina. Hayat hears his parents fighting more, and his father stays away from home with increasing frequency. Hayat overhears Mina telling his mother she should move out. Hayat attempts to interject, but his mother sends him out of the room. 

Hayat listens over the phone as his mother speaks with Ghaleb Chatha about Sunil and Mina. Chatha coldly asks to speak to Naveed for his blessing over Sunil’s proposal.