Contract with God aka The Moses Expedition

29

He was fourteen when he began to learn.

Of course he first had a great deal to forget.

To start with, everything he had learned at school, from his friends, in his home. Nothing was real. Everything was a lie invented by the enemy, the oppressors of Islam. They had a plan, the imam had told him, whispering it in his ear. ‘They start by giving women their freedom. They place them on the same level as men to weaken us. They know that we’re stronger, more capable. They know that we are more serious in our commitment to God. Then they brainwash us, they take over the minds of holy imams. They try to cloud our judgement with impure images of lust and corruption. They promote homosexuality. They lie, lie, lie. They even lie about the dates. They say it’s the twenty-second of May. But you know what day it is today.’

‘The sixteenth day of shawwal, master.’

‘They talk about integration, about getting along with others. But you know what God wants.’

‘No, I don’t know, master,’ said the frightened boy. How could he be inside God’s mind?

‘God wants to avenge the Crusades; the crusades that took place a thousand years ago and those of today. God wants us to re-establish the Caliphate, which they destroyed in 1924. From that day on, the Muslim community has been broken up into parcels of territory that are controlled by our enemies. You only have to read a newspaper to see how our Muslim brothers live in a state of oppression, humiliation and genocide. And the greatest affront is the stake driven into the heart of Dar al-Islam: Israel.’

‘I hate the Jews, master.’

‘No. You only think you do. Listen carefully to my words. This hatred you believe you feel now, in a few years’ time it will seem to have been no more than a tiny spark compared to the conflagration of an entire forest. Only true believers are capable of such a transformation. And you will be one of them. You are special. I have only to look into your eyes to see you have the power to change the world. To unify the Muslim community. To bring sharia to Amman, Cairo, Beirut. And then to Berlin. To Madrid. To Washington.’

‘How will we do it, master? How can we bring Islamic Law to the entire world?’

‘You’re not ready for the answer.’

‘Yes, I am, master.’

‘Do you want to learn, with all your heart and soul and mind?’

‘There is nothing I want more than to carry out the word of God.’

‘No, not yet. But soon…’