paused. "The man who attacked us in Mali was one of the assassins. Somehow it's related to Bausari and that cave. But al-Bausari is Sunni. The assassins are fanatics and Shia. They wouldn't work together."
"Why did he come after you?" Ronnie asked.
"He was in the library and saw Selena reading that manuscript."
"I'd like to know what was in that cave." Stephanie adjusted the pistol and pager at her waist.
"It must be a relic of Muhammad. A genuine relic could inflame Islam in the wrong hands. A sign of credibility, if you like. And now Bausari has it."
Selena crossed her legs, trying to get comfortable. "What worries me is it could be the sign the assassins have been waiting for all these centuries. It might be why they've come out in the open again. If it's really them."
"What kind of sign?"
"How's your apocalypse knowledge, Lamont?"
"Like in the Bible?"
"Right. In the Bible, you get all kinds of signs like earthquakes and plagues and famine and war that foreshadow the end. Like the world has right now. Then God sounds the Last Judgement and that's it. In Islam, it's similar but different, especially with the Shia theology."
"How so?"
"Those signs mean the Mahdi will appear, the Islamic messiah, to call in the Faithful. Christ reappears and converts all the Christians to the true faith of Islam. Anyone who doesn't convert is finished. Then Islam rules supreme."
Lamont rubbed the heavy cast on his arm. "Damn thing itches. Okay, but so what?"
"Anyone who doesn't convert is put to the sword. Do you know the seven pillars of Shia Islam?"
"No."
"They're pretty good, actually. The first six are about purity, prayer, charity, fasting, pilgrimage and a sense of oneness with God. It's the seventh pillar that can make trouble."
"Which is?"
"Jihad. Struggle. There are two interpretations of that. One is peaceful, the idea that jihad means struggling for a better life, a spiritual life, building the community, things like that. That's how most of Islam thinks of it. The other meaning is confronting enemies of the faith. All bets are off for the non-believer. Anything is justified. The non-believers can be killed."
"What are you getting at?"
"If someone who believes in Jihad as a call to holy war finds a sign that the Mahdi is about to return, and if that person has some kind of organization behind him..."
Everyone was silent for a moment.
Nick scratched his ear. "If it's a sign, we have to know what it is."
Selena brushed a hair from her brow. "I've got a feeling we'll find out soon enough."
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The room was just another room on a ship. The ocean was visible through the porthole, an anonymous expanse of water. It could be anywhere in the world. There was nothing in the room to identify it. Al-Bausari sat cross legged on a low cushion, magnificent in his white robe and full beard. He wore a green turban, marking him as hajji, one who had made the journey to Mecca required of all the Faithful at least once in their lifetime. Behind him was a banner in Arabic, white letters on a green background.
ويوم المحاكمة قريبا
"Is all ready, Ghalib?"
"Yes, Teacher."
"Bring me the box."
Aban waited behind the camera as Ghalib reverently placed a wooden box at al-Bausari's feet. The wood was dark with the passing of the centuries. It was about three feet long, carved with scenes of Paradise, fruits and trees, vines and rivers.
The box from the cave. The Relic of the Prophet.
Al-Bausari nodded at Aban and the tape began recording. When they reached land, the tape would find it's way to Al-Jazeera and to the many websites preaching Jihad against the West.
"Praise God, the Day of Judgement is near. I have been given the sign. I bring His warning to the world."
Those words alone would guarantee rapt attention. Al-Bausari bent forward and opened the box and took out the relic and held it high.
Aban and Gahlib knelt and bowed their heads to the floor. The camera continued
"Why did he come after you?" Ronnie asked.
"He was in the library and saw Selena reading that manuscript."
"I'd like to know what was in that cave." Stephanie adjusted the pistol and pager at her waist.
"It must be a relic of Muhammad. A genuine relic could inflame Islam in the wrong hands. A sign of credibility, if you like. And now Bausari has it."
Selena crossed her legs, trying to get comfortable. "What worries me is it could be the sign the assassins have been waiting for all these centuries. It might be why they've come out in the open again. If it's really them."
"What kind of sign?"
"How's your apocalypse knowledge, Lamont?"
"Like in the Bible?"
"Right. In the Bible, you get all kinds of signs like earthquakes and plagues and famine and war that foreshadow the end. Like the world has right now. Then God sounds the Last Judgement and that's it. In Islam, it's similar but different, especially with the Shia theology."
"How so?"
"Those signs mean the Mahdi will appear, the Islamic messiah, to call in the Faithful. Christ reappears and converts all the Christians to the true faith of Islam. Anyone who doesn't convert is finished. Then Islam rules supreme."
Lamont rubbed the heavy cast on his arm. "Damn thing itches. Okay, but so what?"
"Anyone who doesn't convert is put to the sword. Do you know the seven pillars of Shia Islam?"
"No."
"They're pretty good, actually. The first six are about purity, prayer, charity, fasting, pilgrimage and a sense of oneness with God. It's the seventh pillar that can make trouble."
"Which is?"
"Jihad. Struggle. There are two interpretations of that. One is peaceful, the idea that jihad means struggling for a better life, a spiritual life, building the community, things like that. That's how most of Islam thinks of it. The other meaning is confronting enemies of the faith. All bets are off for the non-believer. Anything is justified. The non-believers can be killed."
"What are you getting at?"
"If someone who believes in Jihad as a call to holy war finds a sign that the Mahdi is about to return, and if that person has some kind of organization behind him..."
Everyone was silent for a moment.
Nick scratched his ear. "If it's a sign, we have to know what it is."
Selena brushed a hair from her brow. "I've got a feeling we'll find out soon enough."
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The room was just another room on a ship. The ocean was visible through the porthole, an anonymous expanse of water. It could be anywhere in the world. There was nothing in the room to identify it. Al-Bausari sat cross legged on a low cushion, magnificent in his white robe and full beard. He wore a green turban, marking him as hajji, one who had made the journey to Mecca required of all the Faithful at least once in their lifetime. Behind him was a banner in Arabic, white letters on a green background.
ويوم المحاكمة قريبا
"Is all ready, Ghalib?"
"Yes, Teacher."
"Bring me the box."
Aban waited behind the camera as Ghalib reverently placed a wooden box at al-Bausari's feet. The wood was dark with the passing of the centuries. It was about three feet long, carved with scenes of Paradise, fruits and trees, vines and rivers.
The box from the cave. The Relic of the Prophet.
Al-Bausari nodded at Aban and the tape began recording. When they reached land, the tape would find it's way to Al-Jazeera and to the many websites preaching Jihad against the West.
"Praise God, the Day of Judgement is near. I have been given the sign. I bring His warning to the world."
Those words alone would guarantee rapt attention. Al-Bausari bent forward and opened the box and took out the relic and held it high.
Aban and Gahlib knelt and bowed their heads to the floor. The camera continued
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