Mo Amer: A Joke About Meeting His Son

The birth of a son, Ali, serves as a backdrop for navigating cultural identity, historical tension, and the surreal nature of medical procedures. During a prolonged labor that culminates in an emergency C-section, a Palestinian father finds himself in a high-stakes, humorous encounter with a Moroccan Jewish doctor wearing a yarmulke. This interaction highlights the unspoken political subtext often present in Middle Eastern diasporic encounters, even in a delivery room. The experience transitions from the absurdity of watching a surgery in ill-fitting scrubs to the profound emotional weight of "skin-to-skin" contact, which triggers a realization of parental responsibility and the significance of heritage. By bestowing seven traditional Muslim names upon the newborn, the father acknowledges the future challenges of growing up in America while ensuring the child remains deeply rooted in his ancestral lineage.