The Girl in Black

Laurent Murawiec, RAND Group The idea of hatred led to 9/11. Until this ideology is completely neutralized, the war on terror will never be won, and the reappearance of Osama Bin Laden is only a matter of time. Dore Gold, Kingdom of Hatred We will control Vatican land. We will control Rome and bring Islam into this place. Sheikh Muhammad Bin Abdal-Rahman Al-Arifili Massoudi was unwise to drag Gabriel Allon out of his brief but troubled vacation. Massoudi was a major British intellectual who advocated association with the EU and was a man of the habit of independent thinking. In his moment of frenzied fear, he had forgotten that the British always drove on the left hand side. The setting for his death was a rainy October evening in Bloomsbury. This is also the time of the last session of the Policy Forum for Peace and Security in Palestine, Iraq and other countries, which is held for the first time every year. The conference that took place early that morning was highly anticipated and ostentatiously designed to create buzz, but by the end of the day it had the quality of a mediocre play on tour. Even presenters who come in hoping to stand out from the crowd seem to find themselves tired of reading the same script from last time. At 10 o"clock the effigy of the US President was burned. At 11 o"clock the Prime Minister of Israel was brought to the fire for purification. At lunchtime, a momentary heavy rain turned Russell Square into a puddle, and some i***t was giving a speech about women"s rights in Saudi Arabia. At 8:30 a.m., when the hammer struck the last panel, the two dozen Stoics who had stayed to the end lined up emotionlessly toward the door. The conference organizers foresee that many people who are not interested will return to attend next fall. The stage decorator leaned forward to remove the poster from its hook. On it was written: GAZA liberated WHAT? The first expert to stand up was Sayyid of the London School of Economics, an advocate for suicide bombers and advocates for al-Qaeda. He was followed by the Mayor of Cambridge, who spoke of Palestine and the Jews as if they were still a group of men in gray from the Foreign Office. During the discussion, the elderly Mayor acts as a mediator between Sayyid, who specializes in discord, and a poor soul from the Israeli Embassy named Rachel. She was booed and whistled in protest every time she opened her mouth to speak. The Mayor was trying to play the role of peacemaker when Sayyid followed Rachel to the door to tease that her colonial days were coming to an end. Ali Massoudi, a graduate professor specializing in global governance and social theory at the University of Bremen, was the last to stand up. This is not surprising, his envious colleagues would say, for in a world of Middle Eastern disciplines, Massoudi has a reputation for never leaving the stage voluntarily. Born in Palestine, with a Jordanian passport, and educated in Europe, Professor Massoudi often appears in public with a moderate look. People call him the bright future of the Arab world, the representative of progress. He did not believe in religion in general, especially radical Islam. In editorials, in lecture halls and on television, he denounced the abnormality of the Arab world. He condemned the very failure of this world that prevented them from educating people to be kind. He condemned the tendency to blame Americans and Zionist Jews. His last book became a fervent call for Islamic reform. Thus the Muslim fanatics declared him a heretic. Moderates say he has the courage of Martin Luther King. That afternoon, he argued to Sayyid"s disappointment that the time was in Palestinian hands. If the Palestinians do not give up their culture of terror, the Israelis will never yield even a part of the West Bank. In fact, they shouldn"t give up. Religious blasphemy, shouted Sayyid. Apostate. Professor Massoudi is about 1.8m tall and very handsome. This seemed dangerous to the emotional young women who had to work with him. His hair is curly black, his cheekbones are wide and strong, and his square chin is split deep in the middle. His deep brown eyes accentuated his trusty intelligent face. A cashmere sports jacket over a cream round-neck sweater makes him look like the epitome of a European intellectual. This is the image that he has worked so hard to create. He leisurely gathered his pen and paper neatly and put them in the briefcase he often carried. Then he walked down the steps and went outside. Several spectators were lingering in the lobby. Standing in the corner of the room, like a stormy island on a calm sea, was a girl. She wore faded jeans and a leather jacket, and a plaid scarf around her neck. Her hair was jet black, shiny and mysterious. Her eyes are also dark. Her name is Hamida al-Tatari. Refugees, she admits. Born in Amman, raised in Hamburg, now a Canadian citizen living in North London. Massoudi had met her that afternoon at the student union reception. While drinking coffee, she accused him of not attacking all the crimes committed by Americans and Jews. Massoudi immediately liked this girl. They planned to meet that evening at the bar next to the theater on Sloane Square. However, his intentions do not stem from romance. He did not desire Hamida"s body. What attracted him was Hamida"s enthusiasm and clean face. Plus there"s this girl"s perfect English and Canadian passport. She peeked after Massoudi as he passed through the hall, but she showed no sign of wanting to approach and talk. To keep a distance after the seminar was over, he had told her earlier. One in my position has to be mindful of who I"m seen with. When he got outside, he stood for a moment under the gate watching the cars move slowly on the wet street. He felt someone rub his elbow lightly. That"s Hamida. She didn"t say a word, but quietly slipped into the rain. He waited until she was gone, then slung his briefcase over his shoulder and headed in the opposite direction to the hotel in Russell Square.