The Dangers of Islam: The Terrorist

Chapter 3: Choices

     Dawood nodded and shuffled off to Musa and Aisha's room. Amina had her back towards Dawood and didn't notice the way her youngest looked at his brothers, but Harun did. He quietly stood in the kitchen, watching his children interact with one another and nearly yelled at Sulaiman for being so cold towards his little brother. He sighed and wondered where he went wrong in raising the boys to cause such an emotional divide amongst them. "Honey," Amina called out once she stood up and spotted Harun, "Musa and Aisha are home. They bring good news." Harun put on a smile and walked over to his family. At that moment, a finely dressed toddler came dashing into the room followed by her equally finely dressed parents. "Yo, Moose!" Jalal yelled out as he spotted Musa and ran towards him to give him a hug. "When'd you get back?" "Just now," Musa smiled. "Hi, Baji." Mariam smiled as she looked at her twin brother. He called her baji because she was two minutes older than him, but even if she wasn't, Musa always felt that Mariam was emotionally older than him. "Welcome home," Mariam said and gave Aisha a hug. "Why are we all gathered here?" "I was about to head out for work," Sulaiman explained. "Weren't you two as well?" "Yes, but I take it some family announcement is being made?" Mariam asked. "They're pregnant!" Mehak smiled. "Oh, wow! That is news!" Jalal said and gave Musa a hard smack on his back. "You're going to have sleepless nights too! Welcome to the club!"

     At that moment, Dawood watched his family from down the hallway. These were the moments when he felt like an outsider. Everyone was congratulating each other and he was sent to put luggage away. No matter what he did, he was still the annoying little brother who was thought of as a pest. "Hey. Baba was calling you," Jannat called out as she spotted Dawood standing in the hallway. "Uh, yeah," Dawood nodded before running a hand through his hair. "Sorry, I was putting their things away." "Don't tell me you're bothered by Sulaiman and Musa Bhai's behavior with each other," Jannat said as she raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. It'd take a miracle for them to stop being who they are," Dawood said simply. "Yup, come on," Jannat said as she began to head back to the living room. At that moment, Dawood's phone rang, making Jannat pause to listen to who it was. "Hello?" Dave answered. "Hey, man." Jannat smiled, knowing it was Ahmed, but her smile faded as Dawood whispered, "Oh no. What? Do you need my help? Yeah, yeah. I'll be right over." Dawood hung up the phone and looked troubled. "What is it?" Jannat asked in concern. "You know Auntie Abida? Uncle Raheem's wife?" Dawood asked. "Yes, of course," Jannat said as she remembered the Pakistani woman who made sure to give them cash gifts on all religious holidays. They always called all of the adults in their Pakistani community uncle or auntie because that was just a part of their culture. "Her oldest daughter committed suicide," Dawood whispered. "I have to go to the mosque." "What?" Jannat asked in disbelief. "That's impossible. That girl's barely in high school." "Yeah, I know," Dawood whispered. "I'm heading out. Let the others know."

     Dawood parked his brother's car in the lot and ran to the mosque's front door just as he spotted Ahmed standing there. Ahmed was talking to an old man who had tears in his eyes. "Uncle, I'm so sorry for your loss," Dawood whispered as he looked at the tired old man and added a verse from the Qur'an that was recited whenever someone passed away. "Surely we belong to Allah and to Him do we return." "You're Harun's youngest, right?" Raheem whispered. "Yes, sir," Dawood nodded. "Thank you, my boy. I see he's raised you right," Raheem whispered. "I have to go make sure Abida's alright." "Yes, sir," Dawood whispered. "If you need anything, sir. Let me know." Raheem closed his eyes to fight back the tears and nodded, "Thank you, boys." "How did this happen?" Dawood asked Ahmed urgently. "I don't know yet," Ahmed sighed. "She has only one brother, man. I thought we could help out." "Of course. Of course," Dawood sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I knew her. She always used to tag around her mom." "She was a good kid," Ahmed sighed, "I can't imagine why this happened. Heck, I saw her last week helping out in the Qur'an class." "You think we should ask Nedim if he needs help?" Dawood suggested. "Yeah," Ahmed nodded, leading the way inside the mosque.