“Mamie, was your family Jewish? Are you Jewish?” “Yes, of course,” she says, and I’m so startled at the immediacy of her reply that I take a step back. “You are?” I ask. She nods. Finally, she turns to look at me. “Yes, I am Jewish,” she says. “But I am also Catholic.” She pauses and adds, “And Muslim too.” My heart sinks. For a moment, I’d thought she was speaking with clarity. “Mamie, what do you mean?” I ask, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. “You’re not Muslim.” “It is all the same, is it not? It is mankind that creates the differences. That does not mean it is not all the same
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