70Hamid Nuri sat in a simple hardwood chair behind his desk. At five feet tall and one hundred twenty pounds, his features were more feminine than masculine; however, his baritone khutbah8 mesmerized the San Pedro congregation from the Imam’s minbar.9 Middle age had taken his hair and some of his eyesight, requiring the thick lensed glasses on his desk. He retrieved the spectacles to study the man filling his doorway.
“You don’t frighten me,” the Imam said in a steady voice. “I know why you’re here. It is ugly and evil, an abomination in the eyes of Allah.”
“The world is changing, Hamid.” Gregor Nazyr stepped into the room. “The third world and those who have been forced to swallow their pride by eating dirt and sand are rising. Our people have suffered too long.”
“You should read these
