Larabi’s Ox

... The American took several deep breaths, appearing to stare at the new mosque.… Then suddenly he was moving ahead, toward the open doorway of the mosque.
“No,” the kid said. He dared to grab the American´s arm.
“Please, it is not permitted.”
“Rules were made to be bent.” The American puffed and winked.
“Not in Morocco.”
“I’d like to go in there, kid.”
“But it is not permitted.”
“Why not? I’ll take off my shoes.”
“You are not of the faith.”
“In Spain, they let anybody into mosques. What’s so special here?
The kid frowned, “I am very sorry. It is not so much what is special here as what is not special everywhere else.”
The American shrugged. “Well, can’t I even look in the door?”

Tony Ardizzone

BLANTON, L. L.; LEE, L. The multicultural workshop. Book 3. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle, 1995, p. 178. [Adaptado].

Vocabulário:
Grab: agarrar
Shrugged: deu de ombros

The dialogue between the American and the Moroccan kid shows a conflict which is