By Jason Goodwin

(from ‘The Snake Stone’)

Faisal al-Mehmed nodded his head gently at the faithful as they slipped off their shoes and proceeded, in chattering groups, into the Great Mosque for prayer. For himself, he wished that they did not chat so much; he wished, above all, that they had washed themselves in the fountain before they took the step of entering the holy precinct - but there it was, he was an old man and people had changed. Maybe, he told himself, every old man believes that the people have changed; but maybe every old man is right, For every generation from the Prophet (peace be on him) did seem to be doomed to be less reverent than the next. After the prophet (peace be on him) came four men who were good men, nd great warriors, men who had expanded the Domain of peace beyond all limits - and yet they were men, and had died at the hands of men, and at the end of the four there had come con­fusion, and divisions within their house.

A Turk with a black moustache and a fez and a heavy belly kicked off his slippers and bent, awkwardly, to pick them up and hand them to Faisal al-Mehmed.

Faisal tucked them away. The fat man went into the mosque.

Faisal al-Mehmed hoped the man would remove his fez. He himself wore a green turban, signal of his descent from the Prophet (peace be on him). When men saw the green turban, wherever it was, even far from the mosque, they would be reminded of the Prophet (peace be on him) and so they would adjust their behaviour accordingly. A man could not be near a mosque every moment of his life, and Faisal was well aware that very few men could be close to his mosque, the greatest mosque in all Islam; some had travelled many miles, even across whole lands and peoples, to visit this place. But those who were descended from the line, wearing the green turban - they were legion. Their turban was a precept. And that was good, a bless­ing upon the faithful.

Faisal al-Mehmed turned his attention to the courtyard. Even he would have to admit that the courtyard of Aya Sofia was not perfect, as the courtyard of the Suleymaniye was sublime. It had its fountain, where men were sitting in silence, washing their hands and feet; but it was a truncated court, without a colon­nade to provide the faithful with shade, and the white marble threw off a fierce glare in the morning sun.

He squinted into the bright light. It seemed to Faisal al- Mehmed that a woman was coming across the court, a tall woman who walked with immodest ease, unveiled. His eye­brows met in a black frown. He looked again, shielding the side of his face. It was unthinkable - but there she was, a woman, a very beautiful woman, making her way past the knots of men standing in the courtyard, waiting for the hour of prayer, towards the fountain. He scanned the courtyard, looking for the man who was with her. How could he allow such a thing! Already, some of the men had stopped talking, and were staring after her. And now, Faisal al-Mehmed saw, she was unlatching her shoes, as if she were a man, preparing to wash.

It was too much. Sometimes madmen did appear at Aya Sofia - ranting dervishes, perhaps, from the hills, strange, bearded fanatics from the deserts, once even a naked man who had come rushing into the precincts of the holy place, laughing and clap­ping his hands. It was not the gatekeeper's place to judge them, for they were all of God's creation: who was to say that the mad were not greater men, who had looked on the face of God and found rapture? So said the wise. God, they said, took care of his people: but a mad woman? A man should be taking care of her. It was very shocking.

He began to hobble forwards. He raised a trembling hand. Already, the men were standing around the woman, watching her dumbfounded. Somebody spoke to her: she looked up and smiled and shook her head. Her scarf slipped back an inch.

The gatekeeper began to run. He waved his arms. 'No! No! Haram! Haram! It is forbidden!'

One of the men pointed to the woman's hair. The others looked round at the running gatekeeper, then back at the woman.

'See!' a voice cried out. 'She is an unbeliever.'

The woman had put up her hands. She was backing away. A ring of men gathered behind her. She turned. They began to shout.

The gatekeeper took her by the arm. 'What is this, you foolish daughter?'

A stone landed at their feet. The gatekeeper looked down at the stone, then swung around. There was quite a crowd now. Some of them were shaking their fists. Somebody stooped down and another stone whizzed through the air. Faisal al-Mehmed tugged at the woman's arm.

He saw the fear on her face. A look of surprise.

'This is forbidden, don't you understand. You must go!' He shook her roughly. He was pulling her away: the crowd parted, but only just. People were shouting. The muezzin began to cry from the minaret, and to the men below it seemed as if some hideous miracle were being enacted, some challenge had been issued. The shouting grew in intensity. Faisal al-Mehmed was afraid now.

A hand reached out and plucked away the woman's scarf. Somebody spat. The woman shrank closer to the gatekeeper, who waved his hand ahead of them, trying to clear a path.

'She is a mad Giaour! Only mad! Please, good people, let us pass. She is going!'

The crowd surged round them, angry, yelling faces, men jostling for a better view: Faisal al-Mehmed's voice was lost in the hubbub.

The crowd surged round them as he took the woman to the narrow gate. Faisal al-Mehmed began to pray, his voice echoing the voice of the imam overhead. 'There is no god but the One God!'

The gate was thronged with worshippers arriving for prayers. It seemed to Faisal al-Mehmed that they would be cut down before they ever got through.

Comprehension Questions

1. Describe the setting of the story. What do you know about the history of the Great Mosque?
2. Talk about the characters of this chapter. Why doesn’t the woman have a name?
3. What thoughts occupy Faisal al-Mehmed’s mind at the beginning of the chapter? What is the mosque for him?
4. What happens after the gatekeeper sees the woman in the courtyard? Retell the episode, paying attention to the emotions of the participants of the incident. Size up their behaviour.
5. Why did the muezzin’s cries from the minaret make the situation more dangerous?

Analysis and Discussion

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16