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Isaac
Abe is Amir’s 22-year-old nephew who recently emigrated from Pakistan to the United States. He changed his name from the Arabic “Hussein” to the more stereotypically American-sounding “Abe Jensen” because he, like Amir, is afraid of being discriminated against for being Muslim. He’s more outspoken about Islamophobia than Amir is, however, and he and Emily pressure Amir into speaking out in support of Imam Fareed (who’s been falsely accused of using charity money to fund a terrorist organization). Doing so has a detrimental impact on Amir’s career, proving that Amir and Abe’s fears of discrimination are warranted. Toward the end of the play, though, Abe decides to change his name back to Hussein and stops hiding his Muslim identity. One day, he and his friend Tariq wear Muslim skullcaps and openly talk about Islam in a coffee shop. When a barista questions them about the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, and Tariq says that the U.S. created it, she calls the police. Hussein and Tariq are arrested and interrogated by the FBI, who suspect that the men might have ties to Islamic terrorism because of the way they dress and present themselves. Abe’s character highlights how difficult it is for Muslim people to openly support their own culture in U.S. society. Abe looks up to Amir—but by the play’s conclusion, he finds himself disgusted with his uncle, because Amir hates himself for coming from a Pakistani Muslim background.
Hussein (Abe Jensen) Quotes in Disgraced
The Disgraced quotes below are all either spoken by Hussein (Abe Jensen) or refer to Hussein (Abe Jensen) . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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I don’t like what’s happening. Somebody’s gotta do something about it.
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You know how much easier things are for me since I changed my name?
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So Rivkah and I’d gotten to the point where we were trading notes. And one day, my mother found one of the notes. Of course it was signed, Rivkah. Rivkah? my mom says. That's a Jewish name […] So I tell my mom, No, she’s not Jewish. But she knew the name was Jewish. If I ever hear that name in this house again, Amir, she said, I’ll break your bones. You will end up with a Jew over my dead body. Then she spat in my face […] Next day? Rivkah comes up to me in the hall with a note. Hi, Amir, she says. Eyes sparkling. I look at her and say, You’ve got the name of a Jew. She smiles. Yes, I’m Jewish, she says […] Then I spit in her face.
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White women have no self-respect. How can someone respect themselves when they think they have to take off their clothes to make people like them?
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Do we want to blow stuff up? How often did I read the Koran? […] Do I hate America?
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When you step out of your parents’ house, you need to understand that it’s not a neutral world out there. Not right now. Not for you. You have to be mindful about sending a different message.
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Hussein (Abe Jensen) Quotes in Disgraced
The Disgraced quotes below are all either spoken by Hussein (Abe Jensen) or refer to Hussein (Abe Jensen) . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Scene 1
Quotes
I don’t like what’s happening. Somebody’s gotta do something about it.
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You know how much easier things are for me since I changed my name?
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So Rivkah and I’d gotten to the point where we were trading notes. And one day, my mother found one of the notes. Of course it was signed, Rivkah. Rivkah? my mom says. That's a Jewish name […] So I tell my mom, No, she’s not Jewish. But she knew the name was Jewish. If I ever hear that name in this house again, Amir, she said, I’ll break your bones. You will end up with a Jew over my dead body. Then she spat in my face […] Next day? Rivkah comes up to me in the hall with a note. Hi, Amir, she says. Eyes sparkling. I look at her and say, You’ve got the name of a Jew. She smiles. Yes, I’m Jewish, she says […] Then I spit in her face.
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White women have no self-respect. How can someone respect themselves when they think they have to take off their clothes to make people like them?
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Scene 4
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Do we want to blow stuff up? How often did I read the Koran? […] Do I hate America?
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When you step out of your parents’ house, you need to understand that it’s not a neutral world out there. Not right now. Not for you. You have to be mindful about sending a different message.
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