name of Allah we would capture the American president, and I have kept my word. The king of Jordan will soon be in our hands. So will all the infidelleaders in this region. So will all the dogs in Rome. The ancient prophecies tell us the End of Days is upon us, and with it the judgment of all who will not bow the knee and submit to Allah and his commanders on the earth.”
Khalif now turned to his right and we had a new camera angle of him, against the backdrop of a shadowy stone wall. When he resumed speaking, it was in English.
“Now I speak directly to Vice President Holbrooke, the new leader of Rome. Fearful and trembling, weak and unsteady, you and the infidels you lead have lost your way. You have three choices —convert to Islam, pay the jizyah , or die. You have these three choices, but you do not have time. You must choose your fate and choose it quickly. If you and your country choose to convert, you must give a speech to the world doing so under the precise language and conditions of Sharia law, and you will be blessed by Allah and have peace with the caliphate. If you choose to pay the jizyah , you must pay $1,000 U.S. for every man, woman, and child living in the United States of America. I have just sent to the New York Times the details of a certain bank account. I am certain they will forward the information to you. Upon its receipt you must immediately deposit the full amount into the account to cover the jizyah tax. If you do not, or if you act with aggression in any matter against me or against the caliphate, the next video you see will be your beloved president beheaded or burned alive. From the time of this broadcast, you have forty-eight hours, and not a minute more.”
Khalif turned again, back to the first camera, and spoke in a close-up, once more in Arabic.
“The spark was lit in Iraq,” he concluded. “It spread to Syria and now to Jordan. Its heat will continue to intensify until it burns the crusader armies in Dabiq. Let there be no doubt. Let all the world understand. Rome is falling. The Caliphate is arising. We are waiting for you in Dabiq.”
16
When the video was finished, the room was deadly silent.
No one spoke for several moments. Everyone seemed to be processing both the chilling words and images. Every minute that went by, I had more questions, but I didn’t feel it was my place to ask. Not yet. I wanted to see how the king and the prince and the generals would react to the tape, not to me.
Meanwhile, the young military aide who attended to the king’s every need was typing furiously on a laptop. I would soon learn he had been creating a precise transcript of Abu Khalif’s words in Arabic and then producing a flawless English interpretation. When he was finished, he printed out copies of both and handed them to each person in the room. I’d gotten most of what Khalif had said the first time. He had spoken slowly and deliberately, so in that sense it was easier for me to process. There was some vocabulary and several theological references that I didn’t immediately understand. But reading both the Arabic and the English versions just moments after watching the video and hearing the words spoken was enormously helpful.
I glanced at the clocks on the wall and then at my pocket watch. The video was going to air across the globe on Al Jazeera in less than twelve minutes. But the king had yet to react.
When he finally spoke, rather than revealing his own thoughts, he asked his war council for theirs. The suspense was killing me, but I held my tongue.
Lieutenant General Abdul Jum’a went first. “I don’t believe he is on Jordanian soil, Your Majesty,” he began.
“Why?”
“Too risky,” the army commander replied. “They know our forces are fully deployed. Yes, we have lost control of some towns and parts of some cities in the north as the ISIS uprising has spread. But they know it’s a matter of hours, at most a few days, until we reclaim full control over
Khalif now turned to his right and we had a new camera angle of him, against the backdrop of a shadowy stone wall. When he resumed speaking, it was in English.
“Now I speak directly to Vice President Holbrooke, the new leader of Rome. Fearful and trembling, weak and unsteady, you and the infidels you lead have lost your way. You have three choices —convert to Islam, pay the jizyah , or die. You have these three choices, but you do not have time. You must choose your fate and choose it quickly. If you and your country choose to convert, you must give a speech to the world doing so under the precise language and conditions of Sharia law, and you will be blessed by Allah and have peace with the caliphate. If you choose to pay the jizyah , you must pay $1,000 U.S. for every man, woman, and child living in the United States of America. I have just sent to the New York Times the details of a certain bank account. I am certain they will forward the information to you. Upon its receipt you must immediately deposit the full amount into the account to cover the jizyah tax. If you do not, or if you act with aggression in any matter against me or against the caliphate, the next video you see will be your beloved president beheaded or burned alive. From the time of this broadcast, you have forty-eight hours, and not a minute more.”
Khalif turned again, back to the first camera, and spoke in a close-up, once more in Arabic.
“The spark was lit in Iraq,” he concluded. “It spread to Syria and now to Jordan. Its heat will continue to intensify until it burns the crusader armies in Dabiq. Let there be no doubt. Let all the world understand. Rome is falling. The Caliphate is arising. We are waiting for you in Dabiq.”
16
When the video was finished, the room was deadly silent.
No one spoke for several moments. Everyone seemed to be processing both the chilling words and images. Every minute that went by, I had more questions, but I didn’t feel it was my place to ask. Not yet. I wanted to see how the king and the prince and the generals would react to the tape, not to me.
Meanwhile, the young military aide who attended to the king’s every need was typing furiously on a laptop. I would soon learn he had been creating a precise transcript of Abu Khalif’s words in Arabic and then producing a flawless English interpretation. When he was finished, he printed out copies of both and handed them to each person in the room. I’d gotten most of what Khalif had said the first time. He had spoken slowly and deliberately, so in that sense it was easier for me to process. There was some vocabulary and several theological references that I didn’t immediately understand. But reading both the Arabic and the English versions just moments after watching the video and hearing the words spoken was enormously helpful.
I glanced at the clocks on the wall and then at my pocket watch. The video was going to air across the globe on Al Jazeera in less than twelve minutes. But the king had yet to react.
When he finally spoke, rather than revealing his own thoughts, he asked his war council for theirs. The suspense was killing me, but I held my tongue.
Lieutenant General Abdul Jum’a went first. “I don’t believe he is on Jordanian soil, Your Majesty,” he began.
“Why?”
“Too risky,” the army commander replied. “They know our forces are fully deployed. Yes, we have lost control of some towns and parts of some cities in the north as the ISIS uprising has spread. But they know it’s a matter of hours, at most a few days, until we reclaim full control over
Similar Books
