MARWAN

MARWAN IN BOMBAY

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:39:00 +0000

My stage play of "Marwan" is to be performed on 9/11 in Bombay, India, translated into Gujarati. I'm thrilled and fascinated! I won't be there, but hopefully will get pictures and maybe some audio to post.

MARWAN AT MIAMI BOOK FAIR

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:49:00 +0000

My novel Marwan will be at the Miami Book Fair November 8-15. Check it out at the AuthorHouse pavilion.

A NEW REVIEW AT ITUNES

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Marwan - A free audiobook by Aram Schefrin Aram Schefrin Category: Literature Free Rating: Haunting and Chilling and Human. A very interesting story, given from the point of view of a 9/11 hijacker. Schefrin is an amazing and highly intelligent story teller.I would recommend this to everyone.

MARWAN TAKES THIRD

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Sun, 18 May 2008 02:51:00 +0000

Marwan takes third place in the 2008 Book Contest sponsored by the Santa Fe Trail Creative Arts Guild.

MARWAN IS ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD FINALIST

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:18:00 +0000

We're pleased to announce that Marwan has been named a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award.

Tags: aram, schefrin, the tenth cow, novel, novelist,writer, fiction,historical fiction, book, books, audiobook, podcast, mp3, music, rock,jazz, jazz/rock, ten wheel drive, cd, itunes, disco, d.c. larue, marwan, consider the elephant, john wilkes booth, little big horn, mobipocket, kindle, amazon.com, polo, cathedrals, palm beach premium, 3 a.m., tea dance, star baby, montaigne medal, eric hoffer book award

MARWAN ON MONTAIGNE MEDAL SHORT LIST

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:59:00 +0000

Hoffer Award Announces 2008 Montaigne Medal Finalists

The Eric Hoffer Book Award committee announces the 2008 Montaigne Medal finalists.

March 12, Trenton, NJ – The Eric Hoffer Book Award committee has released the Montaigne Medal short list of finalists for the 2008 award year.

Each year, the Montaigne Medal is given to the most thought‐provoking titles—books that either illuminate, progress, or redirect thought. The Montaigne Medal is given in honor of the great French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, who influenced people such as William Shakespeare, René Descartes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean‐Jacques Rousseau, and Eric Hoffer.

“The Montaigne Medal is an integral part of the annual Hoffer Award for books and prose,” said Christopher Klim, Chair of the Eric Hoffer Award. Klim is also the award‐winning author of several books.

Here is the current short list of award finalists in alphabetical order:

Long Shadows, David Giffey (editor), Atwood Publishing
Marwan, Aram Schefrin, AuthorHouse
The Aesthetics of Equity, Craig L. Wilkins, University of Minnesota
The Emotional Plague, Dr. Charles Konia, A.C.O. Press
The Thread of Ariadne, George Sopasakis, Llumina Press
Their Other Sides, Helen Barolini, Fordham University Press
To Be Self‐Evident, R.L.Hogan, Libertas Press, LLC.
You Will Die, Robert R. Arthur, Suburra Publishing

For more information:
E. Martin
publicity@hopepubs.com
www.HofferAward.com

Tags: aram, schefrin, the tenth cow, novel, novelist,writer, fiction,historical fiction, book, books, audiobook, podcast, mp3, music, rock,jazz, jazz/rock, ten wheel drive, cd, itunes, disco, d.c. larue, marwan, consider the elephant, john wilkes booth, little big horn, mobipocket, kindle, amazon.com, polo, cathedrals, palm beach premium, 3 a.m., tea dance, star baby, montaigne medal

AMERICAN CHRONICLE

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:46:00 +0000

The following appears in today's American Chronicle:

Controversial Book by Aram Schefrin Shows Other Side of 911

By Dorothy Thompson
February 06, 2008

On Sept. 11, 2001, America came to a standstill. Terrorists flew their planes into the New York Trade Centers killing thousands. Another plane flew into the Pentagon, killing even more. Who were these people who had such a vendetta against America that they would give up their lives in the name of religious freedom? Aram Schefin can tell you, as he´s written them into a book titled MARWAN: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A 911 TERRORIST.

Aram granted us an interview so that he could help America understand who these people are and why we need to understand why they did what they did.

Thank you for this interview, Aram. Can we begin by having you give us a synopsis of what is inside the pages of MARWAN: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A 911 TERRORIST?

Marwan details the 9/11 plot from its beginnings in Hamburg, Germany through the moments before the flights to be hijacked took off. It's written from the fictional perspective of one of the hijackers who initially wanted nothing to do with the plot, and explains how and why he ended up flying a plane into the World Trade Center.

Why did you feel a need to give the terrorist point of view? What do you think America needs to know about them?

I think Americans misunderstand the reasons why 9/11 happened. Americans seem to believe that it is all a matter of religion (I think because that is how it has been presented to them), and therefore the fight is inevitable, the so-called "clash of civilizations." But there is so much more to it - a lot of history and a lot of factors that developed because of that history: economic, social, political, cultural, psychological. It has very much to do with frustration, humiliation, unmet needs ... The fight gets more inevitable the longer it goes on, but it was not inevitable when it began, and probably it, for the moment, could still be avoided. If not, the better we understand what motivated these people, the more prepared we are to fight off the next set of terrorists. I think it's critical that people understand (if only so that it doesn't happen again) that there are things that could have been done, and still should be done, to avoid the likelihood of more 9/11s . To tell that story in fiction, I had to write it in the voice of a terrorist. I don't explain what I think needs to be done - but I think if you read the book without bias, those things are pretty easy to see.

The book was written in 2003 and submitted to a number of publishers. What was their response to your queries?

At that time, 9/11 was still very fresh. New York publishers considered it insulting and outrageous to present a book about 9/11 which was written (more or less) from the terrorists´ point of view – even though the book made no attempt to excuse the hijackers´ conduct, and even though I tried to explain to them how important I thought it was that this point of view be presented to the public.

Why do you think 911 happened?

Wow. It would take a month to give you the real answer to that. Let me pick out a few key moments in the history that led up to it.

When ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia was putting that nation together at the beginning of the 20th century - which involved driving out other tribes which had a claim to the Arabian Peninsula - he made a deal with religious clerics. They gave him Koranic legitimacy as king, and in return he gave them a free hand in defining Islam as it was to be practiced in Saudi Arabia. The religion they imposed - to give the short version - was based on a literal reading of the Koran and other early Islamic documents and did not allow any interpretation. Anyone - even a Muslim - who did not agree with their doctrine and proposed to be governed by man-made laws was to be considered an unbeliever, and it was the obligation of every good Muslim to kill him. This was the training bin Laden got.

The next important event was the Afghan war against the Russians in the 1980's. The Arabs who went to Afghanistan were convinced that they were responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the Saudis were afraid they were next. Bin Laden, who had fought in Afghanistan, offered to put together a force of mujahidin to drive Saddam off - but instead the Saudis called on the Americans, leading to Desert Storm and the basing of American troops in Saudi Arabia. Other than oil industry people - who were kept strictly quarantined - no non-Muslim had been allowed into Saudi Arabia since, essentially, the time of the Prophet. Bin Laden and others who thought like him considered the presence of American troops a great offense to Allah. That was the initial source of his hatred of America, and his hatred of the Saudi regime.

To give you a simplified version, Bin Laden's study of Islam led him to the conclusion that all Muslims had the duty to drive the pagans out of the Holy Land, and also to take down secular Arab regimes and reinstate the Islamic caliphate - that is, the union of all Arab Muslims - which had been destroyed in 1924 by Mustafa Kemal. This general concept was fed by the downfall of the Shah of Iran at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists.

In 1998, Ayman al Zawahiri, who was the head of an Egyptian fundamentalist group, joined with bin Laden to create al Qaeda. That added the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into the equation. Add to that the history of colonization of Islamic countries - including by America - which created deep resentments, and the downtrodden status of Arabs as a whole, and you have the mix of the factors that led to 9/11. The longer our troops remained in Saudi Arabia, the more determined bin Laden became to drive them out,

Incidentally, bin Laden was not motivated by hatred of "our freedoms" or "our way of life," although he was contemptuous of both. He hated our interference in the Middle East and what he saw as the combined efforts of the US and our secular allies like Mubarak in Egypt and the King of Jordan - and Saddam, and Israel - to keep control of the region away from pure Muslims. The point of 9/11 was not to destroy America - although bin Laden did say he wanted to do that - but to hurt us badly enough that we would pull out of the region - much the way we pulled out of Somalia after Blackhawk Down.

Do you think 911 could have been avoided?

I don't want to comment on the usual discussion: what the Bush 43 administration knew or did not know and did or did not do. But I would not have based troops in Saudi Arabia (done by the first Bush) - and I would have been more even-handed, at least, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I also would have thought a little further ahead, and understood the region a little better than Reagan and Bush 41 did, and not arm bin Laden in Afghanistan. We created bin Laden and the mujahidin without thinking for one moment of what that meant long-term, because we were so focused on bringing Communism down. I would have been less supportive of the Shah and the other repressive dictators - again including Saddam - in the Middle East. I would have been more supportive of democracy, even if it led to the establishment of Islamic states. In pure Islam non-Muslims are at best tolerated - but they are tolerated, if they don't get in the way. We could have made some effort to improve the lot of the un-rich Arabs, particularly including the educated who could not find work in those countries. That's a problem the Arabs created, but we could have tried to address it. There were other things we could have done which aren't occurring to me at the moment. I don't know if any of this would have stopped 9/11 - but I'm pretty well convinced we would have had a chance to avoid it.

The book is technically a fictional account, but how much would you say is based on true fact?

Most of what happens in the United States is based on news reports and did occur. To give you a few examples: the incident with the bookkeeper's wife in Venice, Florida did occur. The relationship with Carol was completely invented, but helps a lot to explain who Marwan was. What happened in Germany is pretty much the same. What happened in Pakistan and Afghanistan is based on the few details that are known, but greatly expanded by knowledge of what other jihadists did. Obviously there is not much actual knowledge of the interaction between the terrorists, so their conversations are fiction, but they likely did cover the topics I use in those conversations. (Another example: the phone call from Atta to al-Shibh, when he told al-Shibh the date of the attack, did occur.) Most of the characters were, I think, as I describe them, based on what I have read about them. I wanted to point out all their various motivations, and I knew enough about the characters to assign motivations to them which agreed with the facts. Only Marwan, the lead character, is more a product of my imagination – and that´s because I gave him more complexity, in order to be able to explain even more of why these people do what they do.

What kind of research did you have to conduct in order to write this book?

I read a lot of books on the history of the region, on Islam, on Afghanistan, on al Qaeda. I drew a lot from the internet - particularly press reports, many of them from Florida newspapers which, because so much of the story took place in Florida, reported much more detail than the national press.

In the Author´s Note of your book, you say that sociopathic murderers are only a short step away from normal. Can you explain this?

I have always believed that the difference between killers and the rest of us is that there is something missing from them which is not all that visible. All killers are crazy, or they could not kill. Some are born with something missing. Some lose it in the course of their lives. To make a soldier, you take away a piece of his morality - you give him a reason which makes it okay to kill - and you're lucky if, when he comes home, he can find that piece again. The 9/11 terrorists were given, or found for themselves, reasons to kill. They thought of themselves as soldiers - and they were. Hitler gave Adolf Eichmann reasons to kill Jews. They all, as I see it, were otherwise pretty normal guys who had a piece missing, or taken away.

What has been everyone´s reaction in relation to the subject matter of your book? Positive or negative?

Other than the publishers I mentioned above, the reaction of everyone who's read the book has been very positive. At least, that's what they tell me. I'd love to know what you think of it.

Thank you for the interview, Aram. If you would like to find out more about the author, visit his website at www.aramschefrin.com.

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn, virtual book tour, marwan: the autobiography of a 9/11 terrorist, podiobooks.com

ANOTHER INTERVIEW

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:20:00 +0000

Welcome to Paperback Writer

Q. Will you share with us how you came up with the idea for this book?

After 9/11 I realized I knew nothing about the people who had perpetrated the attacks, or the reasons they had done it. I hadn’t even heard of al Qaeda - and I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about international affairs. So I started reading, and I followed the press reports. Many of the events that led up to 9/11 happened near me, in Florida. I went to see the places where the hijackers had lived - and I couldn’t understand how anyone who had experienced America as they had could harbor such hatred for us. The more I researched, the more I understood that - while public discussion was focused on religion as the cause - there was a lot more to it than that. Once I put together enough of the little details from press reports to get the flavor of the people and the events, I decided that non-fiction couldn’t possibly get deep enough into their heads. So much had to be deduced and imagined. That made the story perfect for fiction.

Q. Do you plan your stories first with an outline or does it come to you as write it?

I don’t usually use formal outlines. On this one, I just sequenced the research, integrated it and fleshed it out fictionally when details weren’t available and I had gotten to know the characters well enough.

Q. Do you know the end of the story at the beginning?

Obviously I did with this one. I also knew at the beginning where I was going to end the book. I didn’t think dealing with the actual hijackings would have added anything to what I had to say.

Q. Do you have a process for developing your characters?

I usually let them develop themselves. They do a better job with that than I would.

Q. It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be?

I don’t see how you can write characters without putting yourself into them. As much as you understand other people, there are always areas that baffle you, and your own experience can fill the gaps. Besides, we all fascinate ourselves, don’t we? There is a lot of me in Marwan, and maybe some in Jarrah - I tend to see myself as a kid, and I thought of both of them that way. With reason, considering how young they were.

Q. What is your most favorite part about this book?

I like chapter 5 best, where Marwan and Atta first start learning to fly, because I like the flow of the language and I had a chance to be humorous.

Q. When in the process of writing your book did you begin to look for a publisher?

I had an agent when I wrote the book. He circulated it as soon as it was finished.

Q. What struggles have you had on the road to being published?

Rejections, like everyone else. I hate them.

Q. What do you want readers to remember and carry with them after reading your novel?

I think it’s critical that people understand that the so-called “clash of civilizations” is not inevitable; that there are things that could have been done, and still could be done, to avoid the likelihood of more 9/11s. We must understand the enemy to protect ourselves, and that particularly includes understanding what drove them personally - their frustrations, their humiliations, their unmet needs, etc. Why were they so willing to kill themselves? Or were they really willing? Why did they turn to extreme religion? Et cetera. I think I have explained some of that.

Q. Do you have plans to write another book?

I have another book coming out in the spring, and another one behind that - and I expect to write more.

Q. Where can readers find a copy of your book?

At the usual online megastores - Amazon, Barnes & Noble. Or they can come to Florida, where the local bookstores have it. The book is available as an e-book, too. I have all the sources I know of listed on my website.

MUSLIM TRUE/FALSE

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:02:00 +0000

What you think you know about them is likely wrong -- and that's dangerous.

By John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, in the L.A. Times

April 2, 2008

Winning hearts and minds -- the Bush administration, foreign policy wonks, even the U.S. military agree that this is the key to any victory over global terrorism. Yet our public diplomacy program has made little progress on improving America's image. Few seem to recognize that American ignorance of Islam and Muslims has been the fatal flaw.

How much do Americans know about the views and beliefs of Muslims around the world? According to polls, not much. Perhaps not surprising, the majority of Americans (66%) admit to having at least some prejudice against Muslims; one in five say they have "a great deal" of prejudice. Almost half do not believe American Muslims are "loyal" to this country, and one in four do not want a Muslim as a neighbor.

Why should such anti-Muslim bias concern us? First, it undermines the war on terrorism: Situations are misdiagnosed, root causes are misidentified and bad prescriptions do more harm than good. Second, it makes our public diplomacy sound like double-talk. U.S. diplomats are trying to convince Muslims around the world that the United States respects them and that the war on terrorism is not out to destroy Islam. Their task is made infinitely more difficult by the frequent airing of anti-Muslim sentiment on right-wing call-in radio, which is then heard around the world on the Internet.

Finally, public ignorance weakens our democracy at election time. Instead of a well-informed citizenry choosing our representatives, we are rendered vulnerable to manipulative fear tactics. We need look no further than the political attacks on Barack Obama. Any implied connection to Islam -- attending a Muslim school in Indonesia, the middle name Hussein -- is wielded to suggest that he is unfit for the presidency and used as fuel for baseless rumors.

Anti-Muslim sentiment fuels misinformation, and is fueled by it -- misinformation that is squarely contradicted by evidence.

Starting in 2001, the research firm Gallup embarked on the largest, most comprehensive survey of its kind, spending more than six years polling a population that represented more than 90% of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims. The results showed plainly that much of the conventional wisdom about Muslims -- views touted by U.S. policymakers and pundits and accepted by voters -- is simply false.

For instance, Gallup found that 72% of Americans disagreed with this statement: "The majority of those living in Muslim countries thought men and women should have equal rights." In fact, majorities in even some of the most conservative Muslim societies directly refute this assessment: 73% of Saudis, 89% of Iranians and 94% of Indonesians say that men and women should have equal legal rights. Majorities of Muslim men and women in dozens of countries around the world also believe that a woman should have the right to work outside the home at any job for which she is qualified (88% in Indonesia, 72% in Egypt and even 78% in Saudi Arabia), and to vote without interference from family members (87% in Indonesia, 91% in Egypt, 98% in Lebanon).

What about Muslim sympathy for terrorism? Many charge that Islam encourages violence more than other faiths, but studies show that Muslims around the world are at least as likely as Americans to condemn attacks on civilians. Polls show that 6% of the American public thinks attacks in which civilians are targets are "completely justified." In Saudi Arabia, this figure is 4%. In Lebanon and Iran, it's 2%.

Moreover, it's politics, not piety, that drives the small minority -- just 7% -- of Muslims to anti-Americanism at the level of condoning the attacks of 9/11. Looking across majority-Muslim countries, Gallup found no statistical difference in self-reported religiosity between those who sympathized with the attackers and those who did not. When respondents in select countries were asked in an open-ended question to explain their views of 9/11, those who condemned it cited humanitarian as well as religious reasons. For example, 20% of Kuwaitis who called the attacks "completely unjustified" explained this position by saying that terrorism was against the teachings of Islam. A respondent in Indonesia went so far as to quote a direct verse from the Koran prohibiting killing innocents. On the other hand, not a single respondent who condoned the attacks used the Koran as justification. Instead, they relied on political rationalizations, calling the U.S. an imperialist power or accusing it of wanting to control the world.

If most Muslims truly reject terrorism, why does it continue to flourish in Muslim lands? What these results indicate is that terrorism is much like other violent crime. Violent crimes occur throughout U.S. cities, but that is no indication of Americans' general acceptance of murder or assault. Likewise, continued terrorist violence is not proof that Muslims tolerate it. Indeed, they are its primary victims.

Still, the typical American cannot be blamed for these misperceptions. Media-content analyses show that the majority of U.S. TV news coverage of Islam is sharply negative. Americans are bombarded every day with news stories about Muslims and majority-Muslim countries in which vocal extremists, not evidence, drive perceptions.

Rather than allow extremists on either side to dictate how we discuss Islam and the West, we need to listen carefully to the voices of ordinary people. Our victory in the war on terrorism depends on it.

John L. Esposito is an Islamic studies professor at Georgetown University. Dalia Mogahed is executive director of the Center for Muslim Studies at Gallup. They co-wrote "Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think."

NOT AT THE MOMENT

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:11:00 +0000

Am reading Susan Faludi's "The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-911 America." Haven't got far with it yet - but struck by her reporting of the attacks on Susan Sontag as "despicable", "an ally of evil," "deranged" (these by Andrew Sullivan who seems to have had an epiphany and perhaps would not stand by these comments now) for saying that " a few shreds of historical awareness might help us to understand what has just happened, and what may continue to happen." And against Barbara Kingsolver for sayng that one way to be a good citizen was "to learn honest truths from wrongful deaths." And on Arundhati Roy for saying that "it will be a pity if, instead of using this as an opportunity to try to understand why September 11 happened, Americans use it as an opportunity to usurp the whole world's sorrow to mourn and avenge only their own." And against Naomi Klein for suggesting "an international response to terrorism might be more effective than a unilateral one."

Faludi couches this in terms of a general post-911 reaction against feminism. I don't see these comments as reflecting feminism in any way, except that it was women who said them. What they said is what "Marwan" is about, and I hope just saying what I said doesn't categorize me as a feminist. There may actually have been a few other men who said similar things - although Faludi isn't reporting them.

My point is that I take comfort that I was not alone - and am seriously depressed that the situation hasn't improved. We still have learned nothing from 9/11 that in any way works towards preventing another one. And people are still hostile to my book. But, to be a snob about it, I don't mind the hostility, since no one so far has proved me wrong. Sometimes I'd rather be loved than right - but not at the moment.

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn, virtual book tour, marwan: the autobiography of a 9/11 terrorist, podiobooks.com, louise richardson, what terrorists want

HE'S AFRAID, TOO

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:33:00 +0000

From the Huffington Post:

King Abdullah addressed the students and faculty of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University today, to urge long-term American commitment to the Middle East's development and to support the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a way that can change the region's strategic landscape for years to come.

Remarks by His Majesty King Abdullah II

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Princeton University

29 February 2008

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim

Fifty-seven countries are not at peace with Israel today.

Fifty-seven countries out of 193 countries in the world.

Fifty-seven countries with a total population greater than Europe and the United States combined.

Fifty-seven countries, representing one third of the members of the United Nations.

Fifty-seven countries for whose citizens the conflict in Palestine is the issue of their time.

We must, therefore, ask the important question. What are the implications for global stability if this continues?

Today I assert that this must not continue and that 2008 is a critical year. Yes, at long last, this year, right now - we are in the best possible position to resolve 60 years of conflict between Israel and Palestine. The Arab and Muslim states have committed to an unprecedented and unanimous peace initiative. We have a chance to answer this third of the world who are not at peace with Israel and who demand freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people.

But time is running out and we need the United States of America completely involved, to influence the course of discussions, monitor progress, and help bridge the gaps to ensure a final agreement by the end of 2008.

It is difficult to exaggerate how great the stakes are, for Americans, for Arabs, for Israelis, and indeed for the whole world.

But I am not here today to speak only of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I am here to speak to you, the scholars of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, of the critical importance of a long-term strategic American involvement in the development of the Middle East.

I am here to explain that such a commitment is an opportunity to transform the strategic landscape of the Middle East for years to come.

I am here to speak of what must, I repeat, must happen if our world is to be safe.

I know that optimism does not come easily in academia. But I do know about the visionary thinking that is the scholar's gift. Today, I ask you to employ visionary thinking to consider a short- and long-term strategy that will ensure a viable, stable, prosperous Middle Eastern region and a safe and secure world for all.

America's involvement is a critical success factor of such a strategy. We need a strong authority that can act and act swiftly. We need to act now for time is running out. The continuing confinement of the Palestinians in Gaza everyday creates a greater radicalism amongst Palestinians and invites other actors within the region to operate on their behalf. The long period of conflict has allowed new ambitions, influences, and capabilities to appear. They are echoed in Iraq's armed sectarian division, in the attacks on Lebanese sovereignty, and in the power-projection by state and non-state actors.

There are many other serious threats.

Security, opportunities for youth, economic development, resource scarcity, chronic conflicts, institutional challenges and nuclear weapon proliferation, are just some examples of the major challenges we face. You are a prime example of some of the gifted, ambitious youth of America. We are acutely aware of the urgent needs of our own youth who make up 70 percent of my region's people. It is the largest youth cohort in our history. Like American youth, Internet communications have given them an unprecedented view of the world. In their own region they see evidence in extremist messages of hatred and isolation. They see a lack of opportunities and an uncertain future. But they also see the prosperity and freedom that countries and regions in peace can offer.

We must meet the expectations of this younger generation. In my region, we expect to need 200 million new jobs by 2020. Creating these opportunities will require investment and partnerships to develop new infrastructure, meet energy and water needs and improve public services and education. A strong cooperative Arab-American strategic partnership must be created.

But today my friends, we must contemplate.

I pose these questions for your consideration...

Will my region plunge into more chaos and violence, where extremism rules? Or will it be a peaceful, developing region?

Will it be a region focused on conflicting radical ideologies fueled by the manipulation of sectarian division? Or will it be a region reaping the benefits of globalization and strong global partnerships?

Will it be a region that rejects Western alliances, perhaps violently, because they have become far too difficult to achieve? Or will it be a region that is a global partner in progress and prosperity with the West?

The choice is ours. But we must act and time is running out. The dangerous combination of new technology, terrorism and the drastic consequences of economic underdevelopment, all continue to add to a potentially catastrophic situation on the ground.

We must act this year if we are to achieve the first important advancement towards a strong Middle Eastern region.

A year ago, before the U.S. Congress, I urged an all-out American commitment to lead the way forward. I said then what I repeat today: that the wellspring of global division, the source of resentment and frustration within the region and far beyond, is the denial of justice and peace in Palestine. The beginning of a long-term strategic partnership between the Arab world and the United States must begin with the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

America is the only world power capable of ensuring that the parties stay on track and on time in their current negotiations. And America is uniquely placed to build international support throughout the peacemaking process. Resolution of this conflict will be critical if we are to confront the other serious regional challenges

But time is running out. This year is an unprecedented opportunity to reach a comprehensive settlement between Israel and all its neighbors.

In Israel, there are those who oppose any movement toward resolution. There are politicians who do not want peace with Palestinians and who reject a two-state solution. I disagree. Israel's security cannot depend indefinitely on occupation, walls, and the Israeli military. Real security for Israel will occur when it is a neighbor among neighbors, an economy among economies, a people among people working together towards the achievement of common goals and bright futures.

In America, there are those who oppose any further involvement. There are those who say it is not America's business. I disagree. You will all know that historically, success in Middle East peacemaking was achieved when the United States stepped in and drove the negotiations.

A victory by the enemies of peace, freedom, stability and moderation cannot be an option. If we miss today's opportunities, peace will be set back, perhaps for decades. Extremists will continue to act. The forces for moderation and positive change will weaken. Global divisions will not only endure but also possibly deepen. Questioning of the West's effectiveness, and commitment, may grow. All of these will have consequences not only for my region but also for the world.

My friends,

Division and hatred have eroded understanding and agreement. They have played into the hands of the enemies of humanity - those who attacked the World Trade Center, those who would divide multi-cultural Europe, those who, right now, seek to tear my region apart.

If we fail to take the necessary steps to resolve the core problem of the region, it will become significantly harder for the countries of the Middle East to work in partnership with America in the future. I fear radical ideologies will determine the political and social agendas in many of our countries. The region will move further away from our vision of moderation, prosperity and peace. It will move further away from the common principles of mutual respect and partnership on which we want to base our relations with the United States and the West.

Every day another child in my region grows up with frustration and hatred in his or her eyes.

Every day another child grows up with aggression because that is all they have known.

Every day young people lose hope because they cannot get jobs and they cannot see opportunities.

Princeton scholars,

Speaking here today, I am especially aware of the role of scholars and students in making progress happen. Where others see unsolvable problems, you see paths that can lead to answers and successful action. This is the tradition of great scholarship of which you are a part.

Today I ask you to bring the tradition of scholarship to the challenges that lie ahead, and join me in thinking about the reality that together our countries can create:

* An end to 60 years of conflict, violence, and occupation;
* A homeland for Palestinians, offering hope, respect, and a future;
* Security and new acceptance for Israel, within its neighborhood and around the world;
* A strategic region that is able to turn to the future as peace takes hold;
* And, a new partnership between your country and the Arab and Muslim peoples, transforming the strategic landscape and creating new horizons for progress and peace.

It is an honor to be speaking to you all today, and I thank you, President Tilghman, for your warm reception.

I should like to conclude by drawing from the wisdom of the great American after whom this school was named.

Woodrow Wilson said,

"Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together. There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries, but an organized peace."

This is the challenge, this is the opportunity, and we must succeed.

Thank you very much.

SOMETIMES IT JUST LOOKS HOPELESS

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:43:00 +0000

From TimesOnLine:

Israel threatens to unleash 'holocaust' in Gaza

An Israeli minister gave warning yesterday that the Gaza faces a “holocaust” if Islamist militants there do not end their daily barrages of home-made Qassam rockets, and their increasing use of Iranian-built Grad missiles.

“The more Qassam fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, they will bring upon themselves a bigger holocaust because we will use all our might to defend ourselves,” Matan Vilnai, the Deputy Defence Minister said.

The use of the term "holocaust" is usually restricted to descriptions of the Nazi genocide of the Jews in Europe in the Second World War, and many Israelis resent its use in any other context. Mr Vilnai’s deployment of the word appeared to show Israel’s growing frustration that Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza refuse to curb their attacks, despite heavy tolls inflicted in Israeli air strikes and tank raids.

As Israeli media relayed his controversial comments, Mr Vilnai’s spokesman was forced to issue a clarification. “The minister used the Hebrew term 'shoah' which means 'catastrophe' and in this context does not refer to the 'the Shoah' - the Holocaust,” he said.

Israel has killed more than 30 Palestinians, including four children and a baby, in the past two days amid a dramatic escalation of the cross-border war. Palestinians have fired close to 130 rockets in the same period, killing one man on an Israeli campus.

Israeli defence officials said that preparations for a large-scale ground offensive to storm Gaza and break Hamas have been completed, but that they are waiting for improved weather conditions to begin what many predict would be a hugely bloody offensive into the crowded streets of Gaza’s cities and refugee slums.

Many observers worry that Israel could be dragged back into a costly, long-term military occupation of Gaza, which may not even halt the rocket fire. Militants have been firing them for seven years, while Israel only ended its occupation of the Strip two years ago.

“We’re getting close to using our full strength. Until now, we’ve used a small percentage of the army’s power because of the nature of the territory,” Mr Vilnai said.

Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister, was reported in the Israeli media to have sent messages to world leaders giving warning of an impending conflagration in Gaza, but insisted that Hamas’s endless rocket attacks have left Israel with no choice but to attack. “Hamas bears responsibility for this deterioration and it will also bear the results,” he said.

Thousands of Gaza residents rallied after Friday prayers to protest against the increased Israeli raids, with children holding up placards saying “They’ve killed my right to childhood.”

Ismail Haniyah, the dismissed Hamas Prime Minister who has largely avoided public appearances for fear of being a target of Israel, warned worshippers at a mosque that they were looking at open conflict.

“Gaza today faces a real war, a crazy war led by the enemy against our people,” he said, condemning the Arab world’s silence over the escalating violence and accusing it of “encouraging the Israeli aggression”.

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:58:00 +0000

From The Writer's Life

Author Interview: Literary Fiction Novelist Aram Schefrin

Aram Schefrin is the author of four novels. He is a pioneer in the new art of podcasting fiction, and all of his work can be downloaded from iTunes and heard in its entirety. Mr. Schefrin has been a musician – he has studied guitar with Carlos Montoya and writing for the musical theater with Steven Sondheim, and was the lyricist and lead guitarist of the jazz/rock group Ten Wheel Drive in the 60’s and 70’s. He now practices law in Rhode Island and Florida. He lives in Wellington, Florida with his wife, two dogs, four cats and three polo ponies. You can visit his website at http://www.aramschefrin.com/.

Welcome to The Writer's Life, Aram. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?

I'm a lawyer professionally, but I've always written. I spent some time writing for the musical theater under the guidance of Stephen Sondheim, and then in the late '60's I was the lyricist for the jazz/rock group Ten Wheel Drive, which some of your readers might have heard or heard of if they're old enough (thank God we're still on iTunes and on the web, so the group is reaching another generation or two). Ten Wheel Drive did an oratorio based on the story of Custer's Last Stand with a symphony orchestra at Carnegie Hall in the early '70s. The research for the lyrics for that got me interested in Custer, and I finally sat down to make a novel out of him in the early '90s. I've written three more since then.

Can you please tell us about your book and why you wrote it?

The book is a fictional autobiography of one of the 9/11 hijackers. It takes the story of the plot from its inception in Germany and Afghanistan to the moments before the hijacked planes took off. There were three reasons I wrote it, and I don't remember which came first. After I'd done my research - which I did for my own information - I realized that the story of how 9/11 came to be was fascinating and suspenseful and involved characters who interested me a lot. I also realized that what the public knew of the reasons behind 9/11 was less than minimal - and I thought it was important, for the future, that people understood the terrorists' backgrounds and motivations, in order to try to prevent another attack or at least to be able to prepare for it effectively. The third reason was that I thought people would be interested in the subject.

What kind of research was involved in writing your book?

After 9/11, I realized I knew nothing about the people who had done it and their reasons for doing it. I read quite a lot of the history of the region, on Islam, on al Qaeda, until I felt I had a handle on why 9/11 happened. But it was online newspaper reports that gave me the non-theoretical material for the book - information on the characters, the settings, events, etc. Particularly Florida newspapers, since so much of the buildup to 9/11 happened in Florida. While I was writing, I was thrilled to discover that if there was a fact or a detail I needed to know, with the right question to Google I could come up with it. Before the internet, this book - or any book using history - would have kept me in the library for two years.

How much input did you have into the design of your book cover?

I worked with a freelance designer. I gave her my ideas, and she rendered them beautifully.

Has it been a bumpy ride to becoming a published author or has it been pretty well smooth sailing?

Getting a publisher is hell - particularly these days, with so much product around and many publishing houses less and less interested in developing talent. With Marwan, there were unique problems. I submitted it in New York in 2003, only two years after 9/11. New Yorkers were still grieving, and they were very hostile to my book. They accused me of all sorts of terrible motivations - trying to profit from their misery, that sort of thing. One of the things they told me was that everyone already knew all about 9/11. Believe me, they didn't, and they still don't. By the way, the answer to your question depends on what you mean by published. All of my novels have been podcasted, and three of them are for sale as audiobooks. Marwan is the only one in print, so far, although another one will be coming out around April. So, to the extent you can publish in audio yourself (it costs next to nothing), it's easy to become a published author.

For this particular book, how long did it take from the time you signed the contract to its release?

Two months. AuthorHouse was very good with that.

Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is? If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?

I had an agent until a few years ago - John Ware. He circulated Marwan and one other book. He was a great editor and helped me immensely with that. He did not, however, place my books. He was not interested in working with the last book I wrote - I think it's my best, and he couldn't get with it - so we had an amicable parting. I think if you're looking for a publisher it's essential to have an agent. Obviously you don't need one if you self-publish.

Do you plan subsequent books?

Haven't decided yet. I have the ideas, but not the motivation right now. Anyway, I have a chance to get an opera performed, so that's what I'm working on at the moment.

Are you a morning writer or a night writer?

Definitely night. I can stay up all night writing. Like I am right now. But I'll write any time an idea comes to me.

If money was no object, what would be the first thing you would invest in to promote your book?

Spending a year in New York.

How important do you think self-promotion is and in what ways have you been promoting your book offline and online?

I used to believe talent was enough. I still think it's useful, and I think promotion (self and otherwise) helps (using PR people I think is better than doing it yourself, because they're not invested in your ego - that is, unless you happen to be a self-promoting genius like Truman Capote), but the best way to get a book off the ground is to know the right people. What I did offline was get the book to people I respected, and into local bookstores. Online, with Dorothy's help, I've built good websites for all my books and for myself, and of course I'm doing this virtual book tour.

Any final words of wisdom for those of us who would like to be published?

I don't have any wisdom. Just do the best you can.

GUANTANAMO CHARGES

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:52:00 +0000

Among others, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi bin al-Shibh have been charged with murder and war crimes in connection with 9/11. Read NPR coverage.

LOUISE RICHARDSON

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:36:00 +0000

Tonight I heard Louise Richardson speak. She is, among other things, Executive Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study; she has taught on terrorism at Harvard, and she has a book out - What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat.

I haven't read the book yet, but from what she had to say tonight I can heartily recommend it - because she seemed to be in agreement with the views on terrorism I have expressed in my recent posts.

I gave her a copy of Marwan. I hope she reads it.

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn, virtual book tour, marwan: the autobiography of a 9/11 terrorist, podiobooks.com, louise richardson, what terrorists want

MARWAN ON GOOGLE BOOKS

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:20:00 +0000

Thanks to the folks at Google for getting Marwan up on Google Books!

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn, virtual book tour, marwan: the autobiography of a 9/11 terrorist, podiobooks.com

BOOK MARKETING BUZZ

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:40:00 +0000

The following appears today at Book Marketing Buzz:

Controversial Book on 911 Gives Other Side of the Story: Exclusive Interview with Aram Schefrin

Posted by pumpupyourbookpromotion on February 11, 2008

The odds of getting a book published by a NY publisher are astronomical for a new author. Even for the seasoned author or one who already has NY contracts, it’s much the same. For the lucky ones who make it, they’ll tell you it’s a battle to keep their slots on these publishers’ wish lists, but for the new author, the hurdles are thrown at them at mind-boggling force. But, the dream is still with them and, instead of giving up, they aim for other resources to publish their book.

Aram Schefrin is no quitter, but because of the content of his book, he was turned down by NY – especially since his book dealt with a subject that was too close to home.

On September 11, 2001, Americans awoke to find out that their native turf had been violated. Suicidal bombers flew planes into the Twin Towers in New York and were aiming toward the Pentagon. War was declared and America mourned their losses.

Two years later, a writer from Wellington, Florida, found out that NY wasn’t ready to read a book written about a tragedy that affected thousands of citizens – whether they were the victims that were killed as a result or the families of those who perished. It wouldn’t sell, they told him. If they even gave him the time of day.

Aram had no other choice but to choose a publisher who used print-on-demand technology to publish their books – Author House.

The sad thing about this story is that I have read this book. Many, many books have come across my desk – whether they are my clients at Pump Up or from those requesting reviews – and never have I read a book that is so intense, so well-written and definitely NY material. But because of the nature of his book, no one in New York wanted to be reminded and especially, since it was written from the terrorists’ point of view.

In preparing for Aram’s virtual tour in February, I began to read his book and I really understood why this book needed to be written and needed to be in everyone’s hands.

Aram chose to write this book from their point of view because America, as well as the rest of the world, needs to understand why 911 happened. Sure, we’re still grieving. Nothing will take that away. But, we need to understand because understanding will prevent future events that happened on 911 from happening in the future, or at least give us the foresight to understand why it happened in the first place so that we can make changes before it occurs again. If we are so close-minded to think it won’t happen again; think again.

I interviewed Aram for Book Marketing Buzz because I want my readers to hear his side of the story because his story needs to be told.

Welcome to Book Marketing Buzz, Aram. Tell me, where were you the morning of September 11, 2001? What were you doing at the time you heard of the tragedy in New York?

In bed in Wellington.

Did you have anyone personally affected by 911 and how did it affect you personally?

No, thank God.

Is this the reason you wrote your book?

No. I had no personal issues with 9/11. I researched the book because I needed to understand why 9/11 had happened, and what kind of people had done it. I wrote the book because as a result of my research I felt the details and the plot flow of the story would make great fiction, and because I felt that, in order to do everything necessary to make sure that another 9/11 never came, we all needed to understand the reasons it did happen. There are far more of those than the rather simplified or simple-minded explanations we’ve gotten from politics and much of the press. I wouldn’t vote for Ron Paul, but he is right on this one: 9/11 has as much to do with what America and the West has done as it has with what jihadists have done and are doing. But I want it to be clear that I assign no blame to America, and I don’t try to excuse the hijackers. I just want America to be clear-headed about 9/11.

How long did it take to write your book? What research was involved?

About a year. Research started with books on the history of the Middle East, on Islam, on Afghanistan, on al Qaeda. After I had what I felt was a basic understanding of what happened, I fleshed out the details on the internet - mostly in press investigations after the fact. This was in 2002, well before the 9/11 Commission, so I didn’t have the benefit of their work, but the press - and particularly the Florida press, because so many of the story’s events happened in Florida, gave me much of the color and detail of the settings and the characters.

After it was written, who was the first publisher that you submitted it to? What was their response?

I don’t remember who it was, and I don’t particularly want to remember. Whoever it was was in New York. I have the rejection letter somewhere, but I don’t want to look at it.

Did you try other publishers (before you published it with Author House) or agents? What were their reactions?

I had an agent then - John Ware, whom I thank for his great help in editing this book. He picked the houses the book went to. The submissions were in 2003. New York was still grieving, and the publishers were outraged that I was trying to peddle a book about 9/11 - never mind that it was written (more or less) from the perspective of a hijacker. They said I was trying to profit from their misery. We tried to explain why the book was important - even necessary. They didn’t want to hear it.

How did you hear of Author House?

On the web. I was somehow aware of print-on-demand - that it was a new way to get a book out while keeping the costs down to the necessary. I was also aware that the web was becoming a great publicity tool, and that it had become an incredible source of research material. If it had not been for the internet and new technologies, I could not have written this book, or gotten it into print, or made anyone aware of it. Actually, putting the book out in print was the last step in my plan. I had heard about podcasting - which is putting audio up on the web for download to iPods and mp3 players. I used to be a musician, so I knew how to handle the recording process. And I loved the theater, so I loved to play with sound effects and background tracks, etc. I’ve always mourned the loss of radio theater, and podcasting fiction looked like a way to get that experience back. So I did that with Marwan, serialized chapter by chapter, and developed an audience. Since I had the audio, the next thing I did was put it on Amazon and Audible.com as an audiobook. Realizing that the audience for audiobooks is still limited - and the audience for podcasts is even smaller - I finally decided to get the book into print.

Has it been a struggle to get the word out about your book being as it is from Author House? Have they helped you in any way to publicize the book or are you basically on your own?

AuthorHouse has been great. They’ve kept to deadlines and done everything they promised to. They offer a myriad of ways to publicize and market a book. They can develop marketing tools like bookmarks, posters, etc. They will do press releases, and send them out. They will maximize your presence on Amazon. They’ll give you a personal publicist to work the book. Etc etc. I decided not to use any of that. They’re not cheap. I wrote my own press releases and emailed them, until I realized they accomplished nothing. Maybe AuthorHouse could have written a better press release, but I’m convinced that whether or not the press pays attention to your book has far more to do with who you know than what’s inside the book. I got a great review from a Florida newspaper because I had attended a book seminar the reviewer had run, and he remembered me. It wasn’t until I had that review that I felt I had something I could use for marketing. I learned how to maximize Amazon myself - you know, search inside, converting the book for Mobipocket and Kindle, tagging the book, etc.

Did you ever think about hiring a publicist to help you promote your book?

I did, and I do. I’m using Pump Up Your Book Promotion. Also, I was in Greece this past summer and met a Brit who was in PR in London, and he is exploring ways to get noticed in the UK market. Frankly, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on promoting the book until I was convinced there was at least a reasonable hope of return on the investment. There’s a whole lot of product out there - and I think the initial New York reaction to the book scared me. But the more attention the book gets, the more interested I get in putting money behind it.

Why did you decide on a virtual book tour to help promote your book?

I had no interest in physically running around the country doing book signings and selling three or four books a shot. That sounds exhausting, expensive and generally unproductive, particularly for a self-published author. I talked to my local Barnes & Noble, which very kindly agreed to stock the book but told me not to bother with a book signing because nobody comes. But I am beginning to learn what the web can do, and what I can do on the web. The idea of a virtual tour intrigued me. I hope it works, and I hope I can take things further from there.

I remember when you queried me, I took a look at what your book was about and, I don’t know if you remember, but I wrote, “..it’s about the other side. No, we don’t want to hear about it because we’re pissed. Nothing they could do, say or feel will make up for what they did to us. But…if we can understand why they did what they did through reading about their feelings and their thoughts before the fact, I think the country as a whole could really benefit from something like that and I know that’s why you wrote this…”

Isn’t that the sole purpose of this book?

No, not at all. What I most wanted to do was to write a great read - a book you couldn’t put down.

Aram, I read where there were a lot of books that were put on the back burner because it’s still too fresh in everyone’s minds; yours isn’t the only one. People want to push this under the rug because of the hurt and the pain. I went to New York six months after the tragedy and I saw the spot where the Trade Centers went down. I smelled the smoke still lingering after all that time. I felt a presence there…a haunting presence as if the spirits of those who had perished were still with us. No one wants to talk about it, especially since it’s a book focusing on the ones who did it. But, we have to hear their side of the story. Of course, we can’t hear their side because they are among the dead, too. Even though you have fictionalized it, I really feel you have done exceedingly well in focusing on what kind of people they were and why they did what they did, even though it seems that no matter who they are or why they did it, we can never forgive them. Aram, my question to you is, since you have researched the faith, the country, the mannerisms, and the lifestyles of these people, how can America heal from this? What steps do Americans need to take in order for something like this to not happen again?

Healing is probably not possible - anymore than we have healed from Vietnam, or our Civil War. But Americans need to develop some perspective on this. 9/11 was a horrible tragedy, but its effects on America have been far more debilitating than they needed to be. Too many politicians and people with economic interests in keeping the fear of 9/11 alive have been using 9/11 for their own purposes. The odds of any of us actually being killed by terrorists are far lower than the odds of being hit by lightning. Israelis - who really are threatened daily - have learned to live with terrorism. The Brits learned to live with the Blitz, and the IRA. We have had to live with far less, and we are far more terrified. That’s our weakness. We do not have to be terrified. The best way to get away from that terror is to understand that jihadists are not some sort of supernatural religious devils who are determined to kill us personally - and have the power to do it. They are people. Their culture leads them to be more brutal than we - what we would call less civilized - but they are driven by the same motivations that push other people. We need to understand those human motivations - both to defend ourselves against them and to make some attempt to change the way they think and act - or (maybe more importantly, and more easily done) to change the way we think and act towards them. We need to realize that they simply do not have the power to do really extensive physical damage to us. At least, not yet. (They have done us a lot of psychological and economic damage, but that is mostly because of who we are, not who they are or what they did.) But if we don’t deal with them as people - with intelligence and maturity - and at least look honestly at the issues they raise, then we will continue to feed their anger and their hate, not to mention their numbers. And then we may face something we really do need to fear.

I thank you for answering my questions, Aram. Where can people pick up a copy of your book?

The book is available at all the usual online booksellers. I list them on my website, www.marwanthenovel.com. (Readers will find it very helpful to keep that website available as they go through the book, because it provides a lot of information on what the book discusses and the facts on which the book is based. It’s like a series of footnotes.) But frankly I’d rather people went to their local bookstores and ordered the book from them - and, while they were at it, insisted the book got on their shelves.

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn, virtual book tour, marwan: the autobiography of a 9/11 terrorist, podiobooks.com

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:23:00 +0000

The following guest post by me appears today at The Book Stacks:

In Chapter 23 of Marwan: The Autobiography of a 9/11 Terrorist, as the hijackers meet in a Las Vegas hotel room to discuss which planes they are going to take, there is an unexpected knock at the door. Everyone’s afraid they’ve been discovered. But it turns out to be a man from Domino’s with two thin-crust pizzas Marwan has ordered up.

This completely fictional incident is a key to understanding my approach to Marwan.

For one thing, it illustrates that people do not stop living their normal lives while they, for instance, plot mass murder. We tend to think of these men as monomaniacs. But even monomaniacs have to eat.

But, more importantly, it illustrates another point.

Although some of them were highly educated in Saudi Arabia, most of the Saudi muscle brought in to handle the rough details of the hijacks had never been in the West before. Like bin Laden himself, all they knew of America was what they had seen on TV or what they had been told by others – and the effect of American policy in their own region. So they could not understand, and were indifferent to, what they saw here.

But the pilots were a very different matter. Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar lived in San Diego. Hani Hanjour had spent a lot of time in California, Arizona and Florida. Ramzi al-Shibh, Mohammad Atta, Marwan and Ziad Jarrah were living in sophisticated Hamburg, Germany, and Jarrah came from a westernized Lebanese family. Atta, Marwan and Jarrah spent over a year in Florida. All of them had a great deal of exposure to Western ways. They knew very well what they were attacking.

Al-Shibh, because of his religion, his personality and his politics, was immune to the attractions of the West. Atta had consciously rejected them, out of outrage at Western doings in the Middle East. But al-Hazmi and al-Midhar immersed themselves in some Western behavior – particularly involving sex shows, alcohol and prostitutes (much like the Saudi princes on the French Riviera). Jarrah was nearly an American kid: he had been educated in a Christian school, he played basketball, and his romance with a Turkish girl was very un-Islamic. The perception that these men were from an alien culture is, therefore, only partly true.

That was the point which interested me most about these people – and the reason I felt I could approach them from Western eyes and turn them into characters Westerners could understand because of their somewhat Western behavior. And I wanted to make one of the characters almost completely Western – in the way he thinks and the things he does and believes – so that the story rang true to American readers. With the actual histories of these characters, I didn’t think that was farfetched.

I knew that in Germany Marwan had rented fancy red sports convertibles to make the club circuit. And there were other details I knew about him – plus the fact that there were many, many details completely unknown – that made him the perfect nearly blank-slate candidate to illustrate this point of view.

Although he was raised in an Islamic backwater, he was influenced by American TV and very aware of what was happening in Europe and America – and went to Germany because he wanted to play a part in that. I suspected that his personal weaknesses and flaws had led a kid who might have become another Silicon Valley clone to become, instead, a killer – or, as he saw it, a soldier of Islam. He was the perfect character to illustrate the process by which your perfectly sane neighbor boy might find himself doing insane things.

The point of Marwan, and of the book, being: some of these people were not so different from us. To understand what they did – and what others like them may yet do – I think it’s important to look at them as we would at any other sad case and try to learn what it might take to stop the continuing creation of people like them.

And that’s what Marwan is about.

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn, virtual book tour, marwan: the autobiography of a 9/11 terrorist, podiobooks.com

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR - FEBRUARY 5

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:13:00 +0000

A virtual interview with The Doctor.

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn, virtual book tour, marwan: the autobiography of a 9/11 terrorist, podiobooks.com

1000TH SUBSCRIBER!

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:32:00 +0000

We welcome our thousandth subscriber to Marwan on Podiobooks.com!

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn, virtual book tour, marwan: the autobiography of a 9/11 terrorist, podiobooks.com

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR - FEBRUARY 1

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:11:00 +0000

The virtual book tour for Marwan begins with a guest post today at The Story Behind the Book , explaining why I wrote the book.

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn, virtual book tour, marwan: the autobiography of a 9/11 terrorist

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 18:15:00 +0000

On February 1, we launch a virtual book tour. Fazed by the prospect of traveling from book store to book store to sell a couple of books, we are trying another approach: traveling online from book blog to book blog for virtual interviews.

The concept is intriguing. Let's see if it works.

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn

4,000 PODCAST LISTENERS!

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:49:00 +0000

Over 4,000 listeners have pulled up the podcast of Marwan on libsyn.com.

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry, Mobipocket,amazon.com, kindle, libsyn

THE LAST FLIGHT

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 12:54:00 +0000

Tags: Atta, Empire State Building, Ziad Jarrah, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Times Square, World Trade Center, twin towers, Allah, 9/11, 9-11, September 11, terrorist, terrorism, jihad, Islam, Muslim, Bin Laden, novel, fiction, Aram, Schefrin, autobiography, art, blog, books, entertainment, news, religion, weblog, writing and poetry

ACT ONE

noreply@blogger.com (Tweet Petite) — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 19:55:00 +0000

ACT ONE

Scene 1: The observation platform of the Empire State Building: June, 2000

MARWAN is alone, looking out of one of those odd binocular stanchions.

MARWAN

Bi ism ‘Allah ar-Rah’man ar-Rah’im. In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. I looked down through a haze of smog from the top of the Empire State. The “greatest city in the world” was an ugly jumble of buildings, for the most part dreary, more like Dickens’ London, as I imagined it, than the clean, airy symmetry of the skyline of Dubai. I was waiting for Atta. This is where we had planned to meet.

ATTA and JARRAH enter behind MARWAN, who does not notice them. They are beardless. JARRAH looks like a typical Western college kid. His hair is cut close to his head. ATTA wears a black T-shirt and black Armani jeans

ATTA

(To MARWAN)
You see how they build this city? (MARWAN spins around and sees him. ATTA makes no move to express friendship). No rules, no plan. Profit is the only thing they think about. So, Marwan – how was your flight?

MARWAN

The flight was good, cousin.

JARRAH reaches for MARWAN and hugs him.

JARRAH

Hello, Marwan!

MARWAN

Hello back to you, Jarrah . (Awkward) So – here we are.

ATTA

(To MARWAN)
Now do you know why I picked this place to meet?

MARWAN

Because you wanted us to see …

ATTA
Everything we hate. (ATTA and JARRAH join MARWAN over the parapet. ATTA points as he explains) That is Wall Street – the fortress of the Yahoodis. That is Madison Avenue, where they are always busy making us want what we don’t need. There, Times Square, home of the Jew press and assorted depravities. I don’t hate those bridges -George Washington, Throg’s Neck. Whitestone. Brooklyn Bridge. They express the nature of God. They are so magnificent, they are almost blasphemous. And there …

MARWAN

Two tall ugly buildings to the south. Atta hated skyscrapers – people piled on top of each other. (MARWAN turns away from the view)

ATTA

Hideous. Like what goes on inside them.

MARWAN

It’s like seeing your own tombstone! You are a shit for bringing me here!

ATTA

I didn’t bring you here. Allah did.

BLACKOUT.

MARWAN alone.

MARWAN

I did not like Atta. I never had. My family lived in Qusaibat, in the emirate of Ras al Khaimah, a pimple on the hide of Saudi Arabia. The Attas lived in Cairo, in Abdin, once an elegant district which has slipped into disrepair. They never came to visit us. My family were poor relations for whom the Attas never had time. I did not take it personally, since as far as I could see the Attas had little time for anyone but themselves.
We had visited them once, when my mother went crazed with resentment over the loss of the citified freedom and the comfort she had surrendered when she left her home in Egypt to marry my father, whose only claim to attention from anyone in the world was his post as part-time muezzin at the mosque next door to our house. It was not a pleasant stay. But my mother had insisted I pay my “respects” to Atta when I came to Germany. I had been in Germany two years before I managed it. (Pause) I had wanted to do something meaningful with my life. But I could find nothing meaningful in the Emirates. They created nothing significant; they had no hefty thoughts. I had gone to a secular school, not a madrassa; I knew English and mathematics – I could do calculus. I had all the necessary tools – but I had nowhere to use them. There were no possibilities – only the things that had always been – for a smart boy in Ras al Khaimah whose father was nobody. On TV I had seen the Western world full of ingenuity. Every day there was something new which promised to change the future of the whole human race. I thought I might go into medicine, which was bringing us closer and closer to immortality; or something to do with the internet, which could someday become the means by which anything anyone knew or thought could be known to everyone. I had heard that German universities were offering scholarships to smart boys in the Emirates; apparently they had concluded that Arabs might be good for something besides sweeping their streets. I studied hard, I read everything, and after a year of effort I won a scholarship for himself. When I came, I was eighteen years old. Germany broke my heart.

Scene 2: Atta’s flat in Hamburg: November. 1996

The room is bare of decoration. Only a round table surrounded by seven chairs takes up any of the space between the little efficiency kitchen and the other three walls of the flat. Oh, and there is a TV too, and a VCR, now off. The apartment is not tidy. ATTA’s laptop was on the table, open and in use, amidst raggedy piles of Post-It notes and plates of gnawed-upon Sacher tortes and a kind of jelly donut Germans call a Berliner. Aside from the door through which MARWAN has entered, there are three doors to bedrooms and a door to a central bathroom.

MARWAN, unseen, knocks on the entry door. ATTA answers it. He is as thin as a rail and his beard is down to his chest. He wears the jalbab and the turban. He looks haggard and shabby. MARWAN has a large suitcase, which he has set down.

MARWAN

You can blame my mother for this.

ATTA

Who is your mother?

MARWAN

(Exasperated, picks up the suitcase)
Okay. I was stupid to come.

ATTA

Oh. Marwan. No. Come in. I didn’t recognize you.

MARWAN

Why should you? You haven’t seen much of me.

ATTA

That’s a pretty big suitcase. (MARWAN picks it up as ATTA walks away from the door and to the table.) I have to finish my thesis. It isn’t a good time …

MARWAN

(Following ATTA)
If this isn’t a good time, why did you say I could come?

ATTA

(ATTA reaches the table)
“See ye not that I pay out full measure, and provide the best hospitality?”

MARWAN

Excuse me, you call this hospitality?

ATTA

Do you want a sacher torte?

MARWAN

(Scanning the table)
Do you have a sacher torte that you haven’t eaten half of?

ATTA

Maybe. Look in the minifridge. (He points toward the kitchen. MARWAN opens the minifridge. It’s empty. He slams it shut. ATTA sits at the table.) Tell me what is going on with you. (As he says this, he gazes into his laptop screen and hits a few keys.)

MARWAN

Well, cousin; here’s what’s going on. I am supposed to be studying German, but I never go to class. Instead I walk up the streets of the rich neighborhoods in Bonn, or down the leafy strasses of the bourgeoisie, trying to understand how these people, who have everything, had instinctively comprehended the secret of how to get it. So far I have not caught on. In the end, on these winter nights, I find a girl in a discotheque who knows even less than I do and won’t cost me anything – not even a bratwurst or a bottle of slivovitz. She asks me to take her to my flat. It’s not that she tells me why – but I know she wants to see how Muslims live, and taste how we make love. She will learn that it’s no different from what she already knows – there used to be artless fumbling, but not any more. If she likes me, she will do it again. If not, she’ll say goodbye. No, I didn’t tell this to Atta. I couldn’t have. (He sits at the table. Now directly to ATTA) What I came to this country for, it makes no sense. Why should I learn German? What will I use it for? It took me no time, once I was here, to understand that the people I wanted to be like are not what I thought they were. They’re not interested in improving the human lot. All they care about is the money they are piling up. And once they have the money, what do they do with it? Ostentations, perversions, useless accoutrements, mindless diversions, one-up-manship.

ATTA

(Distracted, staring at the laptop screen)
“The unbelievers spend their wealth to hinder man from the path of Allah ….”

MARWAN

They have ideas, but no humanity. I can’t be part of that. I can’t work for them. I don’t care about money – really, I don’t! But now, I mean, I don’t know what to do … Why am I telling you this? It’s ridiculous.

ATTA

(For the first time, ATTA looks up from the laptop screen)
“So when thou art empty, labor, and let thy Lord be thy Quest.”

MARWAN

(Understanding none of this)
Well, I’m boring anyway. What about you?

ATTA

(ATTA, now focused on MARWAN, indicates the table)
You see my life. But you should have come to see me sooner.

MARWAN

How could I? You were not here.

ATTA

Yes, that is true.

MARWAN

Where did you disappear to? My mother says no one knows.

ATTA
(Thinks about whether he ought to answer. Then, with a quick shake of his head)
I went to Afghanistan.

MARWAN

The happy land of the Taliban? They could use an architect.

ATTA

It was not for that kind of business ….

MARWAN

Then why did you go?

ATTA

Do you really want to know?

MARWAN

If I don’t want to know something, usually I don’t ask.

ATTA

I went to Sheikh Usama. To make jihad.

MARWAN

(Chuckling)
You?

ATTA

(Angered)
What do you know?

MARWAN

(Conciliatory)
But I want to know.

ATTA

(As his anger wears off)
I went back to Cairo, three years ago, for an urban planning project … I study urban planning …

MARWAN

My mother told me that.

ATTA

Really? Your mother talks about me?

MARWAN

You are the shining example I am supposed to measure up to.

ATTA

Hmm. That’s very nice. Are you measuring up?

MARWAN

If I were, she wouldn’t talk about you. She would talk about me.

ATTA

(Grinning)
Keep working at it. It’s not unattainable.

MARWAN

The urban planning project ….

ATTA

Yes, all right. I was researching a paper on the renovation of the old city gates. I saw what they were doing. It was not renovation. Mubarak – ibn haram! - he was tearing down houses and factories to make a tourist attraction. And where were the people who lived there and worked there supposed to go? He had actors wearing painted rags to play the part of the peddlers he had driven out of there! I could have killed Mubarak for that. I wanted to take a gun …”

MARWAN

But you didn’t, obviously.

ATTA
No, I didn’t do anything. Not then … I went to Aleppo, in Syria. That’s what my thesis is about, a place called Khareg Bab-en-Nasr – it’s an ancient part of Aleppo they are overdeveloping now. These planners, they don’t understand. They only think about concrete. They don’t think about the soul. The outer and the inner world must be harmonized in the city, so the city helps the people to live in unity with Allah … You don’t know what I’m talking about.

MARWAN

I think I do.

ATTA

But you don’t. Anyway – the Muslim Brotherhood is very strong in Aleppo. I met a man there, they call him Abu Ilyas. He is an export-import trader there, and here in Hamburg, too. I said I had finally seen enough. I was ready to do something.

MARWAN

What do you mean, ‘something’?

ATTA

That’s what he asked me. I said I would do anything.

MARWAN

What do you mean, ‘anything’?

ATTA

Any thing.

MARWAN

Because of what you saw at the Cairo city gates?

ATTA

(Impatiently)
Do you think that is who I am? That I want to go to make jihad because of one barbarity? I have seen a million barbarities! This was just the thing that smashed the camel’s back. No – I was always meant to do it. I just didn’t know. (Pause)When I flew back to Cairo, The Doctor’s car picked me up and brought me over to see him.

MARWAN
Who is The Doctor?

ATTA

(Smiling and shaking his head)
I won’t say his name. He was in charge of Islamic Jihad in Egypt at that time.

MARWAN

Why do they call him The Doctor?

ATTA

Because he was a doctor, until he gave up his practice to make jihad. Anyway, he knew who I was – I mean, he had heard of me. He wanted to know about my faith. He asked a lot of questions. Then he said he would call me if there were something I could do. I was thinking of something in Egypt. Something against Mubarak. I knew nothing of Sheikh Usama then. He was in the Sudan. I came back to Hamburg. I was taking classes. Two years later, The Doctor called, and I went to Cairo again. I will not tell you what I did there. But I proved myself.

MARWAN

Wasn’t that when the tourists were killed ….?

ATTA

(Grins)
No guessing! I hid in Cairo a few months; then The Doctor sent me a plane ticket, Cairo to Karachi. From Karachi I was smuggled into Afghanistan. The Taliban were in control by then. They had given Sheikh Usama a home after the Americans made the Sudanese kick him out. And, when I got there, The Doctor was there, too. The Egyptians had joined with the Sheikh to make jihad, not just in Egypt, but in every Muslim state. That was good for Islam, because the Sheikh is a sweet man, like a Buddhist monk. He is in the world and yet not. You never know what to make of him. He never looks you in the eye. But The Doctor is made of steel. I was with him and Sheikh Usama when they made the fatwa against the Americans, and when they bombed the American embassies in Africa. I was still there when Clinton fired missiles at the Sheikh’s training camps – but I wasn’t where he put them, and neither was Sheikh Usama. (ATTA stares hard at MARWAN. Then) No more stories. It’s time for salat-ul-Maghrib.

ATTA goes into the bathroom. We hear water splashing. The door to the flat crashes open, and AL SHIBH, dressed entirely in black, his face blank except for the cobra-like attitude his drooping eyelids give him, stalks across the apartment without acknowledging MARWAN. He disappears into a bedroom, returns a moment later with a prayer rug which he lays on the floor and smooths out with reverent sweeps of his palm. When ATTA comes out, he points to MARWAN.

SHIBH

Who?

ATTA

My cousin, Marwan.

SHIBH

Let him prepare himself.

MARWAN

So I went into the little bathroom, in which I found nothing personal. I looked my clothes over carefully to make certain they were clean. I said Bismillah, which one says at the beginning of anything, and which means that one does what one does in Allah’s name. Then I washed my hands to the wrists three times, rinsed out my mouth three times (my toothbrush was packed in his bag). I three times sniffed water into my nose out of the palm of my hand, then washed my whole face three times, then each arm three times to the far end of the elbow, beginning with the right. I wiped my head with a wet hand, wiped my ears in the manner commanded, washed my feet three times up to the top of the ankles.

BAHAJI slams through the front door, in a black jalbab and Calvin Klein jeans.

BAHAJI

Sorry I’m late! Shit! Class went overtime. (He grins at MARWAN) I’m Bahaji. You are Atta’s cousin, yes? (BAHAJI enters the bathroom. More water splashing)

ATTA

(To MARWAN)
He lives here, too. (BAHAJI comes out quickly.)

SHIBH

(Snaps at BAHAJI)
You could not have done it properly in that amount of time.

BAHAJI

I did! Come on, the sun is going down! (He takes a stance on the prayer rug and looks expectantly at the others.)

SHIBH

I have not washed myself yet.

BAHAJI

Okay, okay! How was I supposed to know?

SHIBH

(Taps his temple)
Inti mafish mukh. Nothing in his head. (He walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind him.)

BAHAJI

(Furious)
Kuss umak akho sharmuta! Some day I am going to kick his ass!

ATTA

I don’t think so. He’ll kill you first.

BAHAJI

(Calmer)
Aaa. That one is crazy.

ATTA

Perhaps, but he is entitled to respect.

SHIBH comes out of the bathroom and lines himself up with BAHAJI on the prayer rug. He stares at BAHAJI. BAHAJI at first stares back, but can not match SHIBH’s potency, and drops his eyes. SHIBH waves at MARWAN impatiently. MARWAN walks briskly to the prayer rug and stands next to SHIBH. SHIBH calls the iqama: “Allah-hu akhbar! Allah-hu akhbar. Ash-hadu anlah il Laha il Allah …” and they say the prayer that must be said before the sun has set.

FADE OUT.

FADE IN.

SHIBH and BAHAJI exit to their bedrooms. ATTA slaps the TV on, and then the VCR. It cuts into the midst of a sermon by an imam in a white robe. His finger stabs at the camera as he condemns Jews. “Jews should have their throats cut! They are filthy apes!”

ATTA

(To MARWAN, as he searches through the relics of sacher tortes on the table)
Have you called your mother lately?

MARWAN

I went to see her.

ATTA

In Qusaibat?

MARWAN

No. In Egypt.

ATTA

I thought you lived in the Emirates …

MARWAN

She moved from Ras al Khaimah. After my father died. She says she feels more at home now in the country where she was born.

ATTA

Oh, yes, I forgot about that. I loved your father.

MARWAN

Did you. She tried to stop me from coming back to Germany. She said she would get a bank loan to support me while I looked for a job. I said I could look until the Last Day, there wouldn’t be any good jobs in Egypt.

ATTA

Until they shoot Mubarak.

MARWAN

I went to see your father too.

ATTA

(Startled)
I spoke to him. He never said he saw you.

MARWAN

I don’t think my visit made his day. He probably forgot.

ATTA

It’s not that he forgets – it’s that he doesn’t understand. He believes in Mubarak. He believed in Sadat. He believed in the peace with the Jews. I still love him, but he’s a pathetic old man.

BAHAJI

(Bursting out of his bedroom)
Let’s go to Sharky’s!

ATTA

(Contemptuous)
I don’t go there anymore.

SHIBH

(Throws open the door to his room and stands in the doorway).
And neither should you, Bahaji. It’s haram.

BAHAJI

(Furious again)
The Prophet said – blessed be he – ‘I do not find anything forbidden to eat, if one wants to eat thereof, unless it be carrion, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine …’

ATTA

(As SHIBH returns to his bedroom and slams the door behind him)
It’s not just the food, Bahaji. It is forbidden because it’s American …

BAHAJI

(Coming into the main room as ATTA goes into his bedroom)
Eyreh be afas seder umak!

MARWAN

(To BAHAJI)
What is this Sharky’s?

BAHAJI

It’s a billiard parlor. An American chain. It’s in a Muslim neighborhood. We don’t play billiards. We just like the food. We used to go there all the time, Atta and me. But Atta has not set foot in it since he came back to Hamburg.

MARWAN

I guess that doesn’t surprise me.

BAHAJI

Atta is different now, isn’t he. More like al-Shibh every day. He’s … I can’t describe it … he’s so … like … intense! I mean, al-Shibh is from the Hadhramaut, like Sheikh Usama’s father. But Atta is from Egypt, and even the Brothers allow themselves an earthly pleasure there. (BAHAJI opens the minifridge, shakes his head) Leave it up to Atta, and you won’t eat tonight.

MARWAN

And he was right. I didn’t.

FADE OUT.

FADE IN. It is two o’clock in the morning. The room is dark. MARWAN is sleeping on the floor. SHIBH squats over him, with explosive eyes.

SHIBH

I saw how you prayed, fajir. You are out of the habit. What is the matter with you? You don’t believe in Islam, jahili? You don’t believe in Allah? Bah! ’Surely man waxes insolent, for he thinks himself self-sufficient.’ Do you know what the Qur’an promises to Muslims who slip?

MARWAN

I …

SHIBH
(Has a book in his hand. He is going to throw it at Marwan, but catches himself, kisses it and lays it on Marwan’s chest. )
You had better read this Qur’an! You little scum! (He rises and goes into his bedroom, leaving MARWAN baffled.)

FADE OUT.

FADE IN. Dawn. MARWAN begins to struggle awake. SHIBH comes out of his bedroom and stands over him.

SHIBH

Well? Did you read it?

MARWAN

Good morning. (He gets to his feet and stumbles away from SHIBH)

SHIBH

I asked you a question. Did you open this Qur’an? Don’t lie. I was watching you.

MARWAN

Isn’t it time for prayers?

SHIBH

You are filthy. Go get clean. (MARWAN heads for the bathroom, but SHIBH wants to talk.)
What do you think of America?

MARWAN

America?

SHIBH

You have heard of it?

MARWAN

I think I envy them.

SHIBH

Yes? And why is that?

MARWAN

Because Americans can do whatever they want.

SHIBH

And what if what they want to do is very bad for you?

MARWAN

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

SHIBH

America has soldiers in the holiest lands of Islam. In Mecca and Medina. That doesn’t bother you?

MARWAN

They are not in Mecca and Medina, I don’t think. They are out in the desert.

SHIBH

They are in Arabia. They are close enough. But I see you are not concerned about that.

MARWAN

The Saudis invited them …
SHIBH

The Saudis? Not the Saudis! The House of Saud!

MARWAN

Because Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait …

SHIBH

Yes – as if that matters! When the corrupt attack the corrupt, it is Allah who wins. If the Saudis needed help, they could have called on the Afghani mujahidin. We destroyed the Soviets, we could have massacred Saddam. But the royal family panicked and brought in the Americans. Then they boasted of the weapons they had bought – spy planes, and fighter jets. And yet they could not defend themselves, and I will tell you why – because the money to buy those weapons wound up in the pockets of the House of Saud! They left all the decisions to the Americans. They would have run away, if the worst came to the worst. The Americans came, and they don’t leave. So who are the real kings of Arabia? Kuf’rs – infidels! But what do you care about that?!

MARWAN

The Americans came to protect Kuwait …

SHIBH

The Americans came to hold their hands on the oil! What do they care for Kuwaitis? My God, I have to calm myself! But you drive me to distraction! I am sorry you do not understand that it is the greatest offense to Islam that kuf’rs are allowed into the lands of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Since the Prophet – blessed be he – chased out the Jews and the Christians, no kuf’r set foot in Arabia until Saud invited the British in to help him drive out the Hashemites. And then, when oil was discovered, he brought everybody in! Why did the Arabs not learn to find the oil themselves? And to bring it up, and build pipelines and refineries, and carry it to the rest of the world and sell it in Arab gas stations? I will tell you why not. For a thousand years Islam ruled the world. We were the center of power, of science, of art, of philosophy, when America was unheard of and Europe was a piddling puddle of shit. And then something happened. We lost our faith. Allah had abandoned us, because we had abandoned Him. The Devil allied with the West; the West, with his help, grew, and we did not. We did not know how to find the oil because we did not know how to know. And, of course, the West defeated us. They walked in and took what they wanted. We were colonized, stolen from, raped. And we admired them for it! We thought if we imitated them, we could make ourselves strong again. And what did that foolishness bring us? Nothing but misery – corrupt regimes like Mubarak’s, like Saddam’s; military disasters; the worst kind of poverty; dependency on infidels; the destruction of the old ways that served us so well for so long, of our relationship with Allah and life in God’s True Path. And despite our adopting Western ways, still we are held in contempt! and so now it is the Americans who occupy us; they plunder our riches, they rule our rulers. They terrorize us; they murder us – they killed a million in Iraq! Half of them were children! And in Bosnia …

MARWAN

They helped us in Bosnia …

SHIBH

In Chechnya …

MARWAN

That was the Russians …

SHIBH

In Palestine …

MARWAN

The Israelis …

SHIBH

What are you, an idiot? Who arms the Israelis? Who says everything they do is just fine? Don’t you know that the Jews own America? The newspapers, the colleges, the movies, the TV? You cannot be that stupid that you don’t know! America is the mother of Israel! (Pause, then SHIBH smiles. It is odd on his face.) A moment ago you used a word …

MARWAN

A word?

SHIBH

You said ‘us.’ ‘They helped us in Bosnia,’ you said. That is interesting. (Pause) What we used to be, and what we are now … does that bother you? That we were a great people, and now are contemptible shit …? (Suddenly he reaches out and grabs MARWAN’s shoulders, hard.) We are not meant to be contemptible! What does Allah say? ‘You are the best nation ever brought forth to men, bidding to honor, and forbidding dishonor, and believing in God.’ Do you understand, Marwan? The law is prescribed by God, not by man. These Christians, they are not governed by God, as much as they speak of Him. But, for us, Allah is everything! And that is why we are the ones who must rule the world! This is not only logical; it is Allah’s command. And there is no way around it. We must do what He wants us to do! (Exhausted, SHIBH lets MARWAN go.)

MARWAN

What I would have told him, if I had had the nerve, was that I didn’t want to rule the world. I just wanted a place in it.

BLACKOUT.

MARWAN

(As he speaks, he is putting on a beard with spirit gum)
I don’t know why I kept coming back to Atta’s flat. I hardly ever saw Atta. He was finishing his thesis. And Shibh, he would not leave me alone. If I ever had a minute of peace, I was always afraid he would streak out of his bedroom and call me an idiot. I guess, in a way, I was flattered that he was constantly working on me. But friendship? Warmth? Forget it. He never showed those feelings; he did not know what they were. But every time I came, I felt a throbbing energy, as if I were standing on a compass needle quivering near magnetic north. They knew what they were intended to do, and all of their thoughts and actions moved them along that path. I of course did not share that certainty – but I was in awe of it. So I was respectful, and I listened to them talk. But I never said anything, because I was ignorant. As Shibh would say, if you want to make friends with a Muslim man you must understand what he believes, and not expect him to care about what is in your infidel brain. And every time I came to Hamburg, they would bring me books and videos, and they would make me read and watch. (On a large screen at rear are projected videos of Muslim miseries – wars and starvation in Chechnya, Bosnia, Palestine) There was only so much of it you could take without it changing you.

Scene 3. Atta’s flat. June, 1999. The same videos are showing on the TV in the flat. ATTA is working at the table.

SHIBH

(Pops out of his bedroom)
You see what I am telling you? Look what they do to us! (Pops back inside.)

ATTA

(Hits a few keys, then leans back in his chair)
Ahhh. Praise God. I’ve finished it.

MARWAN

(Moving into the scene)
Finished what?

ATTA

(Startled)
Marwan! When did you get here?

MARWAN

Three days ago.

ATTA

I had no idea.

MARWAN

Yes, I know.

ATTA

So you have finished your German classes?

MARWAN

Yes. What did you finish?

ATTA

I’ve completed my thesis.

MARWAN

Good for you.

ATTA

Yes. Now I can begin other things. What are your plans, Marwan?

MARWAN

You know I haven’t a clue.

ATTA

So I do. Sit down.

MARWAN

I don’t want to …

ATTA

Sit down. (MARWAN obeys.) They are fighting again in Chechnya. Al-Shibh and I want to go.

MARWAN

(Stunned)
You’ll get murdered! You don’t know how to fight.

ATTA

You have completely forgotten where I have been.

MARWAN

I don’t think you should do this …

ATTA

We are going to go to Afghanistan to see Sheikh Usama. He will help us sneak into Chechnya. And. We think you should come along.

MARWAN

(Laughing)
Me? Sorry. I don’t think so.

ATTA

You don’t have to fight. They will find something else for you to do.

MARWAN

I have to think about going to school …

SHIBH

(Pops out of bedroom)
School for what? What do you care about school? (Pops back in)

ATTA

He’s right, you know.

MARWAN

He was. I didn’t care about anything. Except these men, who were trying to help me (in their own peculiar way). They were going to leave me. I did not want to be left. (To ATTA) Okay.

ATTA

Okay?

MARWAN
I’ll go with you.

ATTA

Good.

BLACKOUT.

MARWAN
They told me to go to Peshawar and find the Honey Man. The cab driver knew where the Honey Man was. He was taking me to him. (Peshawar traffic O.S.) You look out the taxi window and all you see are the beautiful colors, the exotic hats and faces … it is a picture that excites you, you think of it as rich. Then you get stuck in a traffic jam, things don’t go by so fast, you get a longer look at them and after a while you realize that the exotic faces are worn down, the vivid costumes are threadbare – that you are in a filthy, backward place, a place where no one should have to live in this century. And I thought: What if you had not been so lucky? What if you had not been born in the desert, on the sea? What if you were out there, struggling in these streets, at best living by your wits, at worst a beast of burden, hopeless and condemned? How had so many of us ended up like this? Or been unable to rise above it? And there but for – what? Indiscriminate fate? – could go I … Maybe these were the worst of us – maybe not even the worst – but we were all sinking on this boat, on one deck or another. We who invented paper and the hospital, algebra and the zephirum, the concept of the zero, were now dirt in the eye of the world which managed to care about some of us only because we walked on top of a black ooze the world could not do without. Al-Shibh has it right. We are contemptible. I closed my eyes tight, not to see what I had seen. And then I found it hard to breathe, and I felt like I needed to weep.

Scene 4. A madrassa in Peshawar. A man with glasses over an eye patch, and a white djellaba and turban, sits cross-legged on a rug on the floor, the only furnishing. He seems tall, and very thin – but Marwan has the sense that under his robe he is a massive man, that he is a butcher knife masquerading as a stiletto.

MARWAN

Are you the Honey Man?

HONEY MAN

Some people call me that.

MARWAN

I’m …

HONEY MAN

Yes, I can see who you are. How was your journey?

MARWAN

Long.

HONEY MAN

Then you must be hungry. (He reaches behind him and brings out a plate of ground beef on a flat round piece of unleavened bread.) Chappli kebab. Tomatoes, green chilis and eggs. A Peshawar specialty. (He reaches behind him once again and brings out a pot of green tea.) Relax a while. Have the food. Then we will talk. Sorry, there are no utensils.

MARWAN

(Falls on the food, scarfs it down, eating with his hands. With his mouth full)
Good! (He spits some food on the Honey Man, who wipes it off with some disdain)

HONEY MAN

Did your mother not teach you …

MARWAN

Sorry.

HONEY MAN

Well.

MARWAN

Umm. (A few moments) Finished.

HONEY MAN

Give me the plate. (MARWAN hands it to him, and he puts it behind him.) Now. I understand that you are an unbeliever.

MARWAN

(Surprised, then certain)
I am not an unbeliever. I just don’t care.

HONEY MAN

What do you mean, you ‘don’t care’?

MARWAN

It doesn’t matter whether there is a God or not. Maybe Allah made the world, but He is not running it now.

HONEY MAN

Then you are an unbeliever, because you are ungrateful to Allah. ‘Surely, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Gehenna, forcibly.’ You know that verse?

MARWAN

I remember it. My father taught it to me.

HONEY MAN

Then are you not afraid?

MARWAN

If God is listening to us, if He is helping us, then why didn’t He help my father? Why doesn’t He help those people?

HONEY MAN

What people?

MARWAN

(Indicating)
The people out there. If there is a God, I think he has retired. If I am wrong, He will show me …

HONEY MAN

(Throwing up his hands)
Oh no no no! You misunderstand. Allah will show you nothing. You must find your faith alone.

MARWAN

I am not looking for it.

HONEY MAN

Ah. I should send you home. But your cousin has asked me to see you. So I want to ask you: why are you here?

MARWAN

Because my friends were coming, and they suggested that I come …

HONEY MAN

(Tapping a finger on the floor between his knees)
You fly half the way around the world because someone suggested it? No one is that aimless. I know what you are doing here. Why don’t you?

MARWAN

I don’t know what you think …

HONEY MAN

What I think is that you are here because you have no idea what to do with yourself.

MARWAN

(Struggles with himself, and then bursts into tears. The HONEY MAN waits him out)
I could help those people … I want to do the right thing.

HONEY MAN

Really? You want to help them? (He waggles a finger.) But you do not want to make jihad. Do I understand correctly? You will not pick up a weapon.

MARWAN

No. I couldn’t do that.

HONEY MAN

So what kind of help are we talking about?

MARWAN
They said you would tell me that.

HONEY MAN

(Laughs)
Your cousin thinks I am a genius. But what can I do with you? You have no skills, no talents. It is ridiculous. You want to help these people – but these people are Muslims, and you have little faith. You can do nothing for them. They do not want help from you. Those who come to see me come for Allah’s sake. They will do what He commands them to – and I tell them what that is. But you want to choose what you will do – and that you will never accomplish, because you have a serious problem: you do not know who you are. (He points a stiff finger at Marwan’s nose) You are the one who needs the help. And these tears I see, they are for yourself, not for ‘the people out there.’ (MARWAN starts a slow burn, ultimately jumping up.) Understand, I do not mean to offend you.

MARWAN

Thank you for your time, emir. I think I should go home.

HONEY MAN

(Holding up a hand)
No. I do not give up on you. You have to think this through, my friend. And in that I will assist you, because your cousin asked me to. (He rises) You will sleep here tonight. We will send you out tomorrow.

BLACKOUT.

MARWAN

The next day they drove me through the Khyber Pass to a house in Kandahar they called al Ghumad.

Scene 5. A classroom in Kandahar. A blackboard, a table scattered with books and papers and a number of the usual classroom chairs. A masked MUJIHAD stands behind the table. As MARWAN approaches the table, he motions for MARWAN to sit. He stares at MARWAN a moment; then he barks:

MUJIHAD

Iqra! The Cow!

MARWAN

He was ordering me to recite the second sura of the Qur’an. I was happy I sort of remembered it. I did not want to make him mad. “Bi ism ‘Allah ar-Rah’man ar-Rah’im. Alef Lam Mim. That is the Book, wherein is no doubt, a guidance to the godfearing …”

MUJIHAD

(Shouting)
Is that you? The godfearing? No! Go on.

MARWAN

(Struggling with it a bit)
“ … As for the unbelievers, alike it is to them whether thou hast warned them or hast not warned them, they do not believe …”

MUJIHAD

Is that you? Go on!

MARWAN

“ … And some men there are who say, ‘We believe in God and the Last Day’; but they are not believers …”

MUJIHAD

Is that you? You must be one of the three!! Go on.

MARWAN

“ … In their hearts is a sickness, and God has increased their sickness …”

MUJIHAD

(Picks up a book and slams it down)
That is you! Go on.

MARWAN

“ … And there awaits them a painful chastisement …”

MUJIHAD

(Slams the book down again)
Are you warned, jahili?

MARWAN

I …

MUJIHAD
\
Don’t talk! Listen! We already know what you have to say! (He sits on the desk, half turned away from MARWAN.) You love your Muslim brothers? Is that what you want us to believe? Well – we do not believe it. You are full of shit. If the Qur’an does not guide your life … then who are you to us? (Now he turns full on to MARWAN) And you would do what we do? Do you know what that is? ‘This is the recompense of those who fight against God and His Messenger, and hasten about the earth, to do corruption there: they shall be slaughtered, or crucified, or their hands and feet shall alternately be struck off, or they shall be banished from the land …’ (He carefully picks up another book and points it at MARWAN.) You will read this Qur’an from this moment until you are half blind! And then you will come here and repeat it. ‘We shall make thee recite, to forget not what God wills’!

MARWAN

For days, they would not let me sleep. Ten minutes for food, fifteen minutes of rest, and then more of this. (The MUJAHID is reading the Qur’an out loud, but silently) They read the Qur’an. I recited it. And maybe it was because I was tired, possibly that’s it - but the splendorous sound of its syllables began to spill passion over each other, the beauty of the poetry made me want to cry. Maybe I could have walked out of there, I don’t know. But it didn’t matter – I didn’t want to leave. As much as they were watching me, I was watching them – and all of it was enchanting me. Not so much what they told me – I had heard most of that before. But their organization, their decisiveness, so un-Arabic. Their determination. Their intensity. By the third day, I was exhausted. They were telling me fairy tales, about the one-eyed ancient Devil who commanded America. By the fifth day, I couldn’t work my brain; but the mujihad worked it for me

MUJIHAD

From the moment the first drop of your blood is spilled, you do not feel the pain of your wounds, you are forgiven for all your sins; you see your seat in Paradise, you are saved from the horror of Judgment Day; you gain the crown of honor, the least precious stone of which is better than this entire world. The black-eyed await you in Paradise, as pure as pearls in oysters, whom no hand has touched, to whom no dirt adheres. They will await you in your pavilions, to pleasure you. Seventy-two. Imagine it! Such endless, exquisite joy! (The MUJIHAD freezes in place.)

MARWAN

And suddenly I saw them – not all seventy-two, just three or four – gliding on a marble floor, in and out of archways, white-robed and shining, with big full breasts, the whites of their eyes gleaming, the pupils like obsidian, lips pomegranate-red, the robes dropping down off their shoulders, their nipples erect, their pelvises undulating, submission in the eyes … “What do you want?” they said … That’s when I saw Atta again.

ATTA

(Enters, smiling)
Well, well, Marwan! They let you live!

MARWAN

(Stuporous)
When did you get here?

ATTA

I have been here for several days. Al-Shibh has just arrived. So now we can get to business.

MARWAN

What business? Chechnya?

ATTA

(Pacing back and forth)
No. We are not going to Chechnya. I need to talk to you.

MARWAN

Now? Give me a break. I have not slept in five days!

ATTA

I am sorry, Marwan. I want to discuss it now. (MARWAN signals resignation. ATTA takes a seat next to him) You know I am a builder, Marwan, not a destroyer. But I have come to understand that we will not have the chance to build anything until some things are gotten rid of. And I have found myself willing to destroy what must be destroyed.

MARWAN

Uh huh.

ATTA

But before we can take back what belongs to Islam, we must drive America out of the Muslim lands.

MARWAN

Oh. That’s simple. How do you do that?

ATTA

We do it, Marwan. We do it. It has been done already, in little ways. In Lebanon, one truck bomb and all the Marines went home. In Somalia, one helicopter downed and Clinton turned tail. But to do it all in one fell swoop, we must punish America. We must make the American people make their leaders do what we want. We must strike inside America. We have to hit them hard! (He is up and pacing again, emphasizing important words with quick jerks of his shoulders.)
MARWAN

(Laughs exhaustedly)
What are you … what are we going to do? Blow up Washington?

ATTA

You don’t think we can do it? Have you heard of Ramzi Yousef? The man who set the explosion in New York, in the World Trade Center, seven years ago? He is in prison in America. His uncle is with Sheikh Usama, right at the top. I met with the uncle when I came to Afghanistan before. He told me Yousef had other plans besides what he had done. He was going to blow up twelve American jets over the ocean, all at the same time. He had developed a microexplosive, tried it on a Philippine plane. Put it in a fellow’s bag. The fellow did not know. It worked – it blew a big hole in the plane. The plane did not go down, but only because the pilot was a very capable man. Another thing Yousef planned to do was to crash a plane into the headquarters of the American C.I.A. But then he had an accident. He was making bombs in Manila, and something caught fire. The Americans caught him later. So none of it has been done.

MARWAN

Too bad, huh? He must be unhappy, this Yousef.

ATTA

It is the uncle’s idea to put all these plans together into one. To hijack planes in America and crash them into buildings. The World Trade Center, of course, to finish Yousef’s work. And the White House. And the Capitol. And the Pentagon. All at once, in one blow, we destroy their leaders, we smash their financial power. For a time, they will be helpless. After that, they will understand that even worse things will happen to them if they do not leave Islam alone.

MARWAN

I am too tired to applaud a joke – even a good one. Sorry.

ATTA

I am not joking, Marwan. I never joke.

MARWAN

Oh, yes. I forgot about that. So how many Muslims do you think America will kill if you do this … thing to them?

ATTA

You think they will strike us back? Hah! They will light candles! They will tie ribbons around trees! They will cry over people they could not have cared less about the day before, it’s like crying at the movies, it keeps them entertained. But they will not risk more American lives. They will not fight.

MARWAN

I would not bet on that. If you ask me.

ATTA

(Exasperated, plopping back into the chair)
Suppose you are right. What is the worst that they might do? What Clinton did after the embassies? We are an unseen enemy. They will not know where to hit! And if they kill a few of us, there will always be more! And suppose they send troops after us? We finished off the Russians; we will do the same to them. In the end, they will bring all their people home, and their puppets will drop like dominos!

MARWAN

The World Trade Center. Full of innocent people.

ATTA

The Yahoodis in those buildings, they are not innocent! They control the money; they make America do what they want. No American is innocent, anyway. Their country is despoiling the world; their guilt is the same whether they play a part in it or do nothing to stop it. And who do you think this idea came from? When the Americans dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, did they worry about civilians? Or did they target them, to make the people force the leaders to beg for peace! (He reaches out and grabs Marwan’s neck. He gives it a cousinly squeeze.) Listen, Marwan, it’s perfect. We have figured out how to bring the towers down. We have videos of the buildings, and we know how they are built, because the engineer who built them testified at the trial of the Brothers who tried to blow them up before. Hit the towers high with planes, no one gets out alive. (Pause) Here is the business, Marwan. I am going to fly one of those planes. And I want you to fly the other one.

MARWAN

I couldn’t fly a kite into the World Trade Center ….

ATTA

You think I can? We will learn! That is why I sent you here. Al-Shibh and I, we chose you months ago.

MARWAN

(Far too tired to argue at the moment)
How do we get out of these planes?

ATTA

Please, Marwan. You know we do not.

MARWAN

Did you say we were going to die, cousin?

ATTA

There is no way out.

MARWAN

Get out of here. Fiq w’le. Go fuck yourself. Leave me alone.

ATTA

The most important thing in life is how you die. To die for something outside yourself is the great thing. It is an honor. I want you to make the most of your life …

MARWAN

(Angry now)
A very short life!

ATTA

No, not a short life! If you do it, you will go to Paradise!

MARWAN

Go to hell. I like life. I’ll think about Paradise later.

ATTA

Promise me you will consider it.

MARWAN

Go away!

ATTA freezes in place. After a while, MARWAN gets up, begins tiptoeing. He is clearly trying to escape. But he is intercepted by a short, rather chubby man in a white turban and robe, wearing glasses.

THE DOCTOR

Forgive me for intruding. Is there somewhere you wanted to go? (MARWAN raises his hand to signal that leaving was the furthest thing from his mind. He sits.) I have heard from your cousin about your quandary.

MARWAN

I don’t have a quandary. Atta has.

THE DOCTOR

(His belly swells as he sucks in air, then sighs it out.)
The quandary is mine, I’m afraid. I need you. Do you mind if I rest these old bones? I am very tired.

MARWAN

What do I care? Suit yourself.

THE DOCTOR

(Sitting)
They call me The Doctor.

MARWAN

Made of steel.

THE DOCTOR

I believe this mission calls for even-minded men. Most of the men who come to us are inclined to be … excitable. (Chuckles) The Doctor chuckled a moment. Passion is good – don’t misunderstand – but it tends to … cloud the judgment. This job will require precision, and that is not to be expected from a man who is on the brink of a death he is longing for. I believe your cousin can manage it – he is motivated properly. He does not do this for himself, but for all of us, for Islam. It is not an impulse; he has thought it through. He is absolutely determined. (He taps a finger at a temple.) He has the analytical mind, he is dispassionate. In fact, I suspect he is a total stranger to infatuation. Ha. I would not want to marry him, but I would trust him with my life.

MARWAN

I wouldn’t marry him either. Just so you know.

THE DOCTOR

Al-Shibh … well … You know, I would put myself on this mission if I were not needed here. I will gladly undergo martyrdom when it is necessary. But I do not court it. Al-Shibh does. I don’t know why he wants it so badly. It bothers me … But he drives himself ferociously, and he will drive all of you. I just don’t know what will happen if you do not succeed, and he lives … (Pause) I believe you are … matter of fact. (He drops a hand on Marwan’s knee.) You study reality. So I think you will bring us a measure of common sense – and God knows we will need it before this thing is done. And I also think … (He takes his hand away) … that once you come to grips with it, you will manage it easily.

MARWAN

Oh, yes. Of course I will. It’s the sort of thing I’m good at.

THE DOCTOR

I want you to understand that what we are asking you to do will remake the universe. It will bring down America, and restore the world to Islam. You will all be the martyrs of martyrs, the catalysts of Fate. No Muslim has done more for the faith than you will do. I would place you with the Prophets, if it were not blasphemy. And all of Islam will know it. You will be eternal in their eyes.

MARWAN

But, you see …

THE DOCTOR

I could say you would be eternal in fact, but I am not sure you would believe me.

MARWAN

I hope there is a Paradise. But you understand: I’m like you. I don’t want to go there yet.
THE DOCTOR

So you are afraid to die.

MARWAN

I understand that’s normal.

THE DOCTOR

That is the price of your lack of faith. If you want to overcome that fear, you will have to work at it.

MARWAN

It isn’t fair to ask me this. I’m too young.

THE DOCTOR

Yes, you are very young. But tell me, what else could you do with your life that would accomplish as much?

MARWAN

Maybe nothing, but there are other reasons to live.

THE DOCTOR

Then let me put it another way. What else do you have to look forward to? If they find out that you knew Atta … and that you have been to Afghanistan … you will be lucky if they do not track you down and murder you. And we will not protect you, if you turn us down. You will have no career in Europe, you can forget about that. After this, no Muslim will. You will have to find work in the Muslim world. But what could you do? Masonry, that is possible. Or putting up telephone poles. Or you could be a head waiter. That sounds rewarding to me. And everyone around you will have contempt for you, because they will know you could have helped them, and you refused. Then, on the other hand, this I promise you. If you do it, we will care for your mother for the rest of her days. (He reaches out and lifts Marwan’s hands.) So – you hold the future of Islam. I beg you, Marwan, do not tell me you will let it fall ….

SHIBH and JARRAH enter and take seats.

MUJIHAD

You will get no hands-on training from us. What we can teach you, you do not need to know. And we do not want other brothers to be aware of you. That is why you are in this place, and not one of our larger camps. Of course, you will need specialized training. We will let the Americans do it. They are so cooperative. You will focus on what we require of our members. If you have any deficiencies, you will rectify them. You must be a Muslim. (He stares at MARWAN) No unbeliever can protect Islam, and defend its goals and secrets. You will be committed to our ideology. This eliminates the need for thinking about anything but how to accomplish your mission. You will be reconciled with martyrdom. You will behave like soldiers, because that is what you are. You will follow orders without question. You will reveal nothing of anything to anyone. You will remain free of illness. You will be patient in your work, in case of complications. You will be tranquil and unflappable. You will calmly contemplate and endure arrest, imprisonment, or the killing of any or all of your comrades, or of yourself. You will use your intelligence. You will be cautious and prudent. You will be truthful to the brothers, and false to all else. You will memorize the documents which are given to you. We will test you on them. You will study alone. You will not debate amongst yourselves. Am I clear?

ALL

Aiwa! Ehna fahimnah! Yes! We understand!

MUJIHAD

Allah-hu akhbar! Death to the Jews!

ALL

Death to the Jews! Allah-hu akhbar!

MARWAN

(Whispers to JARRAH)
Are you going to fly a plane?

JARRAH

(Whispers to MARWAN)
Yes. I know about airplanes. Are you all right?

MARWAN

Yes, I’m good. What about you?

JARRAH

Oh, yes, I love it! This is serious stuff! It’s great!

THE DOCTOR

(Rises and goes behind the table to speak to all)
Brothers, it is the essence of Islam that all of us are one community. That community is the khilafa, the caliphate. But it was destroyed by the British and the traitor Mustafa Kemal, and divided among ruling regimes of so-called “nation states,” which were made by the unbelievers, were imposed upon us by force, betrayal, oppression and deception, and have worked for the unbelievers, executing their orders. We are in the time of fitna, of mischief and evil works. But we – and I include you most particularly – will turn the tables over the heads of these depraved and treacherous rulers. We will establish the khilafa state over all of Islam. And there can be no community without a leadership, an imam to execute the rules, proclaim what conduct is right, equip the armies, punish those who rebel, judge in matters of dispute, and distribute the wealth we gain through jihad fairly among all. From the day of the death of the Prophet – peace be unto him – all Islam was unified under the rule of a khalifa, the heir to Allah’s Messenger. When we are through, a khalifa will once again rule over all, by that which Allah has revealed. He will declare jihad to uproot the Jews, and remove all infidel influence from every hand span of the Muslim’s land. And he will carry Islam to the world as a message of guidance and light. Obedience to the khalifa comes next after obedience to Allah and to his Messenger. Because there is no authority without hearing and obeying. But now there is no caliph. So, until there is, every Muslim must swear allegiance to an emir. Your emir is Sheikh Usama. You will swear baya’t to him. You know what trust we place in you. But we must go beyond trust, to absolute certainty that you will do your utmost to fulfill your mission. If you do, Allah will ensure that you succeed. This is for those of you who have not signed before. (He walks to Jarrah and Marwan, handing each a paper. He hands a pen to JARRAH, who signs and hands the pen to MARWAN. After hestitating, he signs. The Doctor takes back the papers and turns toward the door.) Someone wants to speak with you.

And then enters the most beautiful man Marwan has ever seen. He towers over the rest of them, dressed all in white. His smile is beatific, his eyes downcast. A golden aura flows from him; he looks like a halo-headed saint in an Italian renaissance painting. He put his hands together in the posture of prayer.

SHEIKH USAMA

My brothers, I welcome you to jihad.

BLACKOUT

MARWAN

Bahaji had gotten married, and moved out of Atta’s flat. I went to see him to say goodbye.

Scene 6. Bahaji’s flat in Hamburg: May, 2000. A small, dark, windowless room. BAHAJI sits in an old overstuffed chair.

BAHAJI

I couldn’t do it, Marwan.

MARWAN

Then it’s good that you aren’t going to.

BAHAJI

But someday they will ask something like it of me.

MARWAN

You can refuse …

BAHAJI

And for the rest of my miserable life not be able to look anyone in the eye. (Pause) How will you make yourself do it? Al-Shibh wants to go to Paradise. I think that is because he has never in his life gotten laid. Or had any creature comforts. Or any respect from anyone. He will get all of that in Paradise. But you – you have a good life. Why do you want to end it?

MARWAN

The question was meaningless. I did not want to die.

BAHAJI

I don’t buy that intolerant bullshit, that Taliban misery. I am German-born, remember, not a fucking Saudi. My family comes from Morocco, where Islam is sweet and there are other things to think about in this life besides Allah. The thought of killing someone does not exalt me, either. And I don’t hate America. Or what it makes, or what it believes. If it were not for America, the world would be asleep. What I hate is things America does – especially to us.

MARWAN

And they must be punished for those …

BAHAJI

Jihad, yes! It must be done! But there are many ways to do it without killing yourself on purpose!

MARWAN

Apparently not for me.

BAHAJI

My wife is pregnant. (BAHAJI’s thumb flips over his shoulder, toward another room. MARWAN hugs him, and lets himself out.)

Scene 7: The observation platform of the Empire State Building: June, 2000

MARWAN is alone, looking out of one of those odd binocular stanchions.

MARWAN

Bi ism ‘Allah ar-Rah’man ar-Rah’im. In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. I looked down through a haze of smog from the top of the Empire State. The “greatest city in the world” was an ugly jumble of buildings, for the most part dreary, more like Dickens’ London, as I imagined it, than the clean, airy symmetry of the skyline of Dubai. I was waiting for Atta. This is where we had planned to meet.

ATTA and JARRAH enter behind MARWAN, who does not notice them. They are beardless. JARRAH looks like a typical Western college kid. His hair is cut close to his head. ATTA wears a black T-shirt and black Armani jeans

ATTA

(To MARWAN)
You see how they build this city? (MARWAN spins around and sees him. ATTA makes no move to express friendship). No rules, no plan. Profit is the only thing they think about. So, Marwan – how was your flight?

MARWAN

The flight was good, cousin.

JARRAH reaches for MARWAN and hugs him.
JARRAH

Hello, Marwan!

MARWAN

Hello back to you, Jarrah . (Awkward) So – here we are.

ATTA

(To MARWAN)
Now do you know why I picked this place to meet?

MARWAN

Because you wanted us to see …

ATTA
Everything we hate. (ATTA and JARRAH join MARWAN over the parapet. ATTA points as he explains) That is Wall Street – the fortress of the Yahoodis. That is Madison Avenue, where they are always busy making us want what we don’t need. There, Times Square, home of the Jew press and assorted depravities. I don’t hate those bridges -George Washington, Throg’s Neck. Whitestone. Brooklyn Bridge. They express the nature of God. They are so magnificent, they are almost blasphemous. And there …

MARWAN

Two tall ugly buildings to the south. Atta hated skyscrapers – people piled on top of each other. (MARWAN turns away from the view)

ATTA

Hideous. Like what goes on inside them.

MARWAN

It’s like seeing your own tombstone! You are a shit for bringing me here!

ATTA

I didn’t bring you here. Allah did.