Mani (Mainstream): What on earth are we doing in this hot desert at midnight? Are we nuts? I should be home in bed, snoring.
Modi (Moderate): We are waiting for Al-Qaeda. Remember, a relative asked family and friends to help defend against an expected attack on their village. We just volunteered to help. How could we refuse?
Mani: I sure wish Radi (Radical) was here. Why isn’t he taking part?
Modi: Al-Qaeda is not his enemy. He identifies with both AQ and the Taliban. He thinks our new government is evil.
Mani: But you did ask Radi, didn’t you?
Modi: I could not do so. If I had explained what we needed to do and where we would be, he might let his buddies know about it and they would turn the tables on us.
Mani: But would he do that if he knew we were going to be here?
Modi: Would you take the chance?
Mani: What is that over to the left? Something is moving.
Modi: I see it. Ah, it is only a truck. I hear the motor now. I do not see anything behind it. Perhaps the AQ are not coming tonight.
Mani: It’s early yet. Modi, if we are involved in some shooting and get killed, are we martyrs?
Modi: We will have the same claim to martyrdom as those walking into a kid’s school with a homicide vest. Perhaps a better claim.
Mani: I don’t understand. If you die on God’s side in the battle, you become a martyr and see Paradise. The AQ and Taliban are always bragging about their martyrs. If we are fighting the AQ, are we on the side of Allah? The AQ said they are on the side of Allah.
Modi: IT IS NOT THE GROUP OR THE NATION THAT ALLAH SIDES WITH. Allah loves us all, the saints and the sinners. Allah gives us intellect and free will; He lets us choose what to believe and what to follow. If you truly believe that you are fighting for love of Him, then you are indeed a martyr. It does not matter what side you are on, or what religion you profess. Many coalition soldiers were killed to help us. If Allah is all knowing and fair, then the coalition troops can be martyrs also.
Mani: Are you saying that the Americans can go to Paradise to enjoy those 72 houris?
Modi: I cannot give you my opinion until you let me know what your definition is of the houris.
Mani: Why, virgins, of course. That is what is written.
Modi: Mani, I hate to say this; however, scholars have been whispering about that translation for centuries. Almost everyone wants the translation to be virgins, but the most likely translation is WHITE GRAPES. The Torah discusses the identical situation, but the Torah talks about Paradise and grapes.
Mani: What! (He jumps to his feet)
Modi: Hey, get down and for Allah’s sake shush. You will get us killed.
Mani: You are fooling with me. You can’t be serious!
Modi: Call my bluff. When you see AQ coming over the ridge, run over to them and start shooting.
Mani: How could anyone make such a mistake?
Modi: When Abu Bakr’s crew began putting all those ayats together, some were written down on banana leaves. The Arabic they used at that time did not have the extra marks we use today. Without those marks to indicate vowels, one word, for example, could be BAN, BIN, or BUN. If a dot were missing, the BAN word could be BAB, NAB, NAN, TAB, BAT, NAT, and on and on. Even now, if you forget a mark or misplace one, it is not that easy to determine what the word is. Back then, memory was considered more reliable than writing for that reason. Don’t fault the people trying to do the right thing; they had a very difficult, almost impossible task. Virgins and grapes are not that far apart in our writing.
Mani: You are making me ill.
Modi: Well, cut off the talk and keep watching the road.
Mani: Should we have something bigger than these AKs?
Modi: Well, personally, I’d like to have a field piece on one side and a tank on the other. Some of the others have RPGs and some light machineguns. I just hope AQ does not bring any heavy stuff with them. They usually travel light so that they can travel fast, strike, and get out. They may have some grenades.
Mani: Someone’s coming up behind us. (He re-directs his AK)
Fighter: I brought some coffee. It may be a long night.
Modi: Thank you for that (Shukran), believe me, it is welcome. Is there any sign of the AQ?
Fighter: Nothing so far. We sent out some people in different directions. They saw nothing. They are Bedouins who know this desert. If Al-Qaeda were there, they would know.
Mani: How many people are defending?
Fighter: We have not finished counting, but we expect about 200. It is many more than we anticipated. Fortunately, quite a few brought their own AKs. I would guess that a lot of people have had it with Al-Qaeda here. I have some more people to see. Allah protect you.
Mani: What you told Radi the other day appears to be correct. AQ is not as popular here any more. Why is that?
Modi: Too many failures and then killing other Sunnis to make their points.
Mani: What do we do if they don’t come tonight?
Modi: That depends. Would you like to make some good money?
Mani: (Perks up) Doing what?
Modi: I talked to our hosts before we came out here to watch. It seems they have a Shia trans-shipment place staked out. They need a few good fighters to raid the place.
Mani: Oh, yeah? What’s there?
Modi: Guns, ammo, RPGs, grenades, explosives. Lots of supplies.
Mani: I can guess it is from Iran, but who is supposed to get it all?
Modi: Us.
Mani: What?
Modi: Yep. However, we are not going to let them distribute it to us; we are going to take it from them and then turn anyone involved, especially Iranians, over to the government. We will pass out the arms to our own people, including a few Baathists on our side who know what they are doing and want to help keep this country unified and free of the Taliban and Wahhabis.
Mani: You talked me into it. You are a devious salesman. Okay, I am in, you SOB, even though I know that you are going to get me killed—with nothing more to look forward to than GRAPES!
Modi: Louie, something tells me this is the beginning of…
Mani: Shut the hell up you damned fool! (They both laugh)
Modi: Shh! Did I just hear an RPG launch? (Explosion)
Mani: Look! They are shooting up on the right.
Modi: Look straight ahead. Here they come. (Mani and Modi begin shooting)
HJS
Modi (Moderate): We are waiting for Al-Qaeda. Remember, a relative asked family and friends to help defend against an expected attack on their village. We just volunteered to help. How could we refuse?
Mani: I sure wish Radi (Radical) was here. Why isn’t he taking part?
Modi: Al-Qaeda is not his enemy. He identifies with both AQ and the Taliban. He thinks our new government is evil.
Mani: But you did ask Radi, didn’t you?
Modi: I could not do so. If I had explained what we needed to do and where we would be, he might let his buddies know about it and they would turn the tables on us.
Mani: But would he do that if he knew we were going to be here?
Modi: Would you take the chance?
Mani: What is that over to the left? Something is moving.
Modi: I see it. Ah, it is only a truck. I hear the motor now. I do not see anything behind it. Perhaps the AQ are not coming tonight.
Mani: It’s early yet. Modi, if we are involved in some shooting and get killed, are we martyrs?
Modi: We will have the same claim to martyrdom as those walking into a kid’s school with a homicide vest. Perhaps a better claim.
Mani: I don’t understand. If you die on God’s side in the battle, you become a martyr and see Paradise. The AQ and Taliban are always bragging about their martyrs. If we are fighting the AQ, are we on the side of Allah? The AQ said they are on the side of Allah.
Modi: IT IS NOT THE GROUP OR THE NATION THAT ALLAH SIDES WITH. Allah loves us all, the saints and the sinners. Allah gives us intellect and free will; He lets us choose what to believe and what to follow. If you truly believe that you are fighting for love of Him, then you are indeed a martyr. It does not matter what side you are on, or what religion you profess. Many coalition soldiers were killed to help us. If Allah is all knowing and fair, then the coalition troops can be martyrs also.
Mani: Are you saying that the Americans can go to Paradise to enjoy those 72 houris?
Modi: I cannot give you my opinion until you let me know what your definition is of the houris.
Mani: Why, virgins, of course. That is what is written.
Modi: Mani, I hate to say this; however, scholars have been whispering about that translation for centuries. Almost everyone wants the translation to be virgins, but the most likely translation is WHITE GRAPES. The Torah discusses the identical situation, but the Torah talks about Paradise and grapes.
Mani: What! (He jumps to his feet)
Modi: Hey, get down and for Allah’s sake shush. You will get us killed.
Mani: You are fooling with me. You can’t be serious!
Modi: Call my bluff. When you see AQ coming over the ridge, run over to them and start shooting.
Mani: How could anyone make such a mistake?
Modi: When Abu Bakr’s crew began putting all those ayats together, some were written down on banana leaves. The Arabic they used at that time did not have the extra marks we use today. Without those marks to indicate vowels, one word, for example, could be BAN, BIN, or BUN. If a dot were missing, the BAN word could be BAB, NAB, NAN, TAB, BAT, NAT, and on and on. Even now, if you forget a mark or misplace one, it is not that easy to determine what the word is. Back then, memory was considered more reliable than writing for that reason. Don’t fault the people trying to do the right thing; they had a very difficult, almost impossible task. Virgins and grapes are not that far apart in our writing.
Mani: You are making me ill.
Modi: Well, cut off the talk and keep watching the road.
Mani: Should we have something bigger than these AKs?
Modi: Well, personally, I’d like to have a field piece on one side and a tank on the other. Some of the others have RPGs and some light machineguns. I just hope AQ does not bring any heavy stuff with them. They usually travel light so that they can travel fast, strike, and get out. They may have some grenades.
Mani: Someone’s coming up behind us. (He re-directs his AK)
Fighter: I brought some coffee. It may be a long night.
Modi: Thank you for that (Shukran), believe me, it is welcome. Is there any sign of the AQ?
Fighter: Nothing so far. We sent out some people in different directions. They saw nothing. They are Bedouins who know this desert. If Al-Qaeda were there, they would know.
Mani: How many people are defending?
Fighter: We have not finished counting, but we expect about 200. It is many more than we anticipated. Fortunately, quite a few brought their own AKs. I would guess that a lot of people have had it with Al-Qaeda here. I have some more people to see. Allah protect you.
Mani: What you told Radi the other day appears to be correct. AQ is not as popular here any more. Why is that?
Modi: Too many failures and then killing other Sunnis to make their points.
Mani: What do we do if they don’t come tonight?
Modi: That depends. Would you like to make some good money?
Mani: (Perks up) Doing what?
Modi: I talked to our hosts before we came out here to watch. It seems they have a Shia trans-shipment place staked out. They need a few good fighters to raid the place.
Mani: Oh, yeah? What’s there?
Modi: Guns, ammo, RPGs, grenades, explosives. Lots of supplies.
Mani: I can guess it is from Iran, but who is supposed to get it all?
Modi: Us.
Mani: What?
Modi: Yep. However, we are not going to let them distribute it to us; we are going to take it from them and then turn anyone involved, especially Iranians, over to the government. We will pass out the arms to our own people, including a few Baathists on our side who know what they are doing and want to help keep this country unified and free of the Taliban and Wahhabis.
Mani: You talked me into it. You are a devious salesman. Okay, I am in, you SOB, even though I know that you are going to get me killed—with nothing more to look forward to than GRAPES!
Modi: Louie, something tells me this is the beginning of…
Mani: Shut the hell up you damned fool! (They both laugh)
Modi: Shh! Did I just hear an RPG launch? (Explosion)
Mani: Look! They are shooting up on the right.
Modi: Look straight ahead. Here they come. (Mani and Modi begin shooting)
HJS
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