# Priesto-Parental explained — The Book of Khalid

> Chapter companion for The Book of Khalid by Ameen Rihani.

## What happens

Khalid returns to Baalbek and faces conflict with his family and the local clergy. His refusal to attend church leads to banishment from his father's house. He builds a booth on Shakib's terrace, and his mother secretly meets him in the ruined Temple of Venus, begging him to return. A confrontation with Father Farouche, a Jesuit, reveals Khalid's open defiance of religious authority. Khalid's primary concern remains his cousin Najma, the 'star' of his destiny.

## Themes in this chapter

### Individual vs. Institution

Khalid's conflict with his father and the Church highlights the struggle between personal belief and institutional demands.

### Alienation and Identity

Khalid feels alienated from his family and community due to his changed beliefs and manners, leading to a crisis of identity.

### Critique of Modernity

Khalid's critique of 'Familism' and 'priestcraft' can be seen as a critique of traditional social structures in the face of modern ideas.

## Character check-ins

### Khalid

Returns to Baalbek, clashes with his father and the Jesuit priest, and is banished from home. He remains determined to understand his destiny regarding Najma.

### Shakib

Provides a detailed account of Khalid's troubles in Baalbek, offering him shelter and support.

### Najma

Khalid's cousin, referred to as his 'one star,' whose significance he is determined to discover.

### Father Farouche

A Jesuit priest who visits Khalid's home and engages in a heated argument with him, calling him an infidel and crazy.

### Im Hanna

Khalid's mother, who pleads with him to return home and obey his father, and secretly meets him in the Temple of Venus.

## Key lines

> Where one has so many Fathers, and all are pretending to be the guardians of his spiritual and material well-being, one ought to renounce them all at once.

Khalid believes that when many people claim to be one's spiritual and material guardians, it is better to reject them all.

_Khalid's rejection of multiple authority figures, including family and clergy._

> The sacredness of the Individual, not of the Family or the Church, do I proclaim.

Khalid declares that the individual is sacred, not the family or the church.

_Core statement of Khalid's individualist philosophy._

> You will either go to Church like myself, or get out of this house: this the ultimatum of Abu-Khalid.

Khalid's father gives him an ultimatum: attend church or leave the house.

_The direct cause of Khalid's banishment._

> Your son is not only an infidel, but he is also crazy. And for such wretches there is an asylum here and a Jahannam hereafter.

Father Farouche tells Khalid's mother that her son is an infidel and insane, destined for an asylum and hell.

_The priest's condemnation of Khalid._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_khalid_se/chapters/v-priesto-parental
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_khalid_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_book_of_khalid_se/chapters