The Dangers of Islam: The Convert

Chapter: Set-Up

     "You will shut your mouth, right now!" Alistair roared at Artemis and shifted his attention back to Athena. "What did you say, girl?" Athena's bottom lip trembled as she fought an internal war as to answer her father or not. He had a murderous look in his eye, something she had never seen before which meant she was walking blindly into this situation. "I'm a Muslim, dad. I became one today," Athena whispered softly but immediately regretted the words that left her mouth as she felt her father's foot land sharply against her ribs.

******

     Iman gasped and sat up abruptly as she awoke. She found herself fighting to breathe and felt a pair of arms wrap around her. "Dawood?" Iman whispered in surprise as she fuzzily noticed a pair of blue eyes looking at her in worry. "No, Mama. Just me. Khadijah," Khadijah whispered softly before pressing a kiss against her mother's temple. "You had a nightmare." "Oh, Shehzadi," Iman whispered and wrapped her arms around Khadijah in relief. "I thought you were your father for a minute."

     "Nope. No miracles here," Khadijah shrugged and gently touched her mother's cheek. "What was your nightmare about, Mama?" "It wasn't a nightmare, Shehzadi," Iman whispered as she held her daughter protectively. "It was a horrible memory." "Baba used to tell me you had a horrible memory that sometimes crept into your thoughts. He told me to always tell you, that all of that is behind you and you are a strong, independent woman now," Khadijah smiled.

     The mere mention of her father put a smile on the usually somber teenager's face. "No memory is worse than the day I lost your father and nearly lost you," Iman whispered as she lovingly looked at the young woman. "It's been ten years, Mama," Khadijah, whispered, "we can't dwell on the past. We have to fight and move forward to find out what happened to Baba." "You don't think he's-," Iman gulped as she struggled to say the word in her mind. "He's not dead, Mama. He wouldn't die because of something like that. He's alive and they know where he is. We just have to fight to find him," Khadijah said as she frowned.

     Iman smiled as she looked at Dawood's carbon copy. Her smile, her anger, her frown lines, and even her blue eyes that veiled a whirlwind of emotion, were in every way like her father's. Even though the government had taken her husband away under falsified terrorism charges, she had Khadijah to temporarily fill the void he had left behind. Iman kissed Khadijah's forehead and whispered, "When did you grow up to be so beautiful, Shehzadi?" "Beautiful? Pshh, Mama. Everyone calls me Terrorist Princess in school. How is that remotely beautiful?" Khadijah scoffed. "People will always be ignorant, Shehzadi. Why not embrace the title?" Iman teased. "Mama!" Khadijah shook her head. "I am Khadijah Amina Khan, daughter of Dawood and Iman Khan. There is no one else like me in this universe. That's what Baba always said. Baba isn't a terrorist and neither am I." "He was right," Iman smiled and gave her daughter a hug. "He was very right."

     "Why don't you go wash your face, Mama?" Khadijah suggested. Iman rose from her bed and watched as Khadijah turned on the TV in her room and flipped though the channels. Once in the bathroom, Iman glanced at her arms, gnawing on her bottom lip as she stared at her scars. She remembered showing them to Dawood all those years ago when they were first married. He had reassured her by telling her that she was a survivor, a warrior. "He always knew what to say," Iman whispered to herself as she wiped the tears that had subconsciously formed in her eyes. Dawood had spent his entire existence helping others and when the time came to return the favor, they were helpless. "Where are you, Dawood?" Iman whispered as she looked at her reflection. She had asked that question for nearly ten years. Where had her loving husband, her warrior, disappeared to?

     She washed her face and used a nearby towel to pat dry it before heading back to her bedroom. Khadijah had now languidly stretched out on the bed, making herself right at home in her mother's room. "Guess who's on TV, Mama," Khadijah called out as she motioned towards the LCD screen with the remote in her hand. Iman followed Khadijah's gaze and set her brow in frustration as she looked at the man on the TV. He had his hair slicked back in a style that would impress even Al Capone. Wisps of silver accented his temples, a reminder of the time that had passed since Iman had last seen him. She smirked in contempt as the man furiously waved in front of a roaring crowd. "He's running for senator, you know?" Khadijah asked as she curled up with her mother's spare pillow and inhaled deeply. Iman crossed her arms across her chest and watched as the man on the TV wiped fake tears from his eyes. "When my mama passed away, my brother learned I was no longer Muslim. He threatened to KILL me because I was no longer Muslim. THIS is the real threat we have to face in a world where we are too lenient on this perverse faith. I saved myself from damnation by converting to Christianity, but there are those stuck in Islam who are afraid of moving on from fear of death. My brother killed thousands. I just wish I could have stopped him when he first showed his terrorist nature. I was afraid, but no more! We must stop the Islamization of America at any cost! We must STOP THE MUSLIMS!" The man roared into his microphone amid numerous cheers from his audience.