Scene1 – The Mosque: The Elder, Sheikh Tariq, and His Companions**
The ancient mosque was drowned in a heavy stillness, broken only by the dim sway of an oil lamp hanging above the clay pillars, casting long shadows that devoured the edges of the walls. The scent of old carpets mixed with the damp smell of earth, as if the place itself shared in the sorrow of its visitors.
The elderly man sat cross‑legged on the ground beside a crooked pillar, his sunken eyes holding the weight and cruelty of many years. In front of him sat Sheikh Tariq, surrounded by Mohammed, Yasser, and several men worn down by the long journey and the bullets of the coast guards.
The old man lifted his head and spoke in a hoarse voice filled with surprise and reproach:
**Elder:** *“And what drove you, my son, to he
