Strangers. Danuta Reah

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СКАЧАТЬ given him a veiled look but hadn’t answered.

      She hesitated, then sighed. ‘I don’t know. That’s the thing. I was talking to one of the new guys today–only he’s not so new. He’s on his second tour. He must be crazy.’

      He knew at once who she was talking about. ‘Joe Massey.’

      ‘Yes.’ She sounded surprised. ‘You know him?’

      ‘Not really. And…?’

      ‘He was here when that man got caught taking the drugs. Remember?’

      Haroun Patel.

      That was the connection that had been nagging at him. Joe Massey must have been in Riyadh at the time Haroun Patel had died. Majid had mentioned the drug theft the other night.

      Damien had known and liked Haroun. He had been intelligent and energetic, a young man determined to do well in life, and not afraid to cut corners on the way. Only he’d chosen the wrong corner to cut and he was gone. The local police had landed every outstanding case of drug pilfering on his head, and then they had cut it off. His trial had been quick and secret, the evidence laid before the judges with no chance for Haroun to plead his case. By that time, anyway, he had confessed his guilt. As far as Damien knew, there had been no diplomatic fuss, no pressure to gain him a fair trial or a more proportionate sentence, just a small and quickly forgotten protest from people who had known him during his time in the UK. Haroun had been one more third-worlder, another immigrant worker trying his luck.

      ‘I remember,’ he said. ‘Why are you asking?’

      Amy sat up, and the sheet slipped away to lie in a pool round her hips. ‘It was just…this Massey guy said something that got me thinking. The case against Haroun never really made a lot of sense…’

      ‘They caught him with the stuff. That’s all the sense a case needs, here.’

      ‘I know. But it wasn’t the first theft, and I don’t see how Haroun could have done the others…’

      ‘You’re right. He probably didn’t. Amy, they caught him with enough stuff to land a trafficking charge on him. That was the crime that got him. The rest was just convenience. They needed a drugs trafficker, they got a drugs trafficker. They just cleared up anything outstanding. He was going anyway, he might as well take some extra baggage with him.’ He was deliberately brutal. He didn’t want her getting involved any further with this.

      Amy ran her fingers through her hair. ‘It’s a lousy system. You know that?’

      He shrugged. ‘Have you only just found that out?’

      ‘You seem happy enough with it.’

      It was happening already. If they weren’t having sex, it wasn’t long before they were sniping at each other, looking for the weak points in each other’s armour. He knew about the iniquities of the system–he didn’t need Amy to point them out. This was one of the reasons he’d left the diplomatic service. ‘You take their money, Amy. You know the score. It’s just the way it is.’

      ‘So no one’s going to do anything about it?’

      He pushed the sheet off in exasperation and got out of bed. ‘Do what? What would be the point?’

      She was silent, chewing her lip as she thought about it. ‘He had a family. I thought it might be better for them if they knew he’d only stolen drugs once.’

      ‘He got caught once. He might have done it loads of times–and then he got careless. Leave it.’

      She stood up. Draped in the thin cotton sheet, she looked as though she had stepped out of an engraving for one of the stories of the thousand and one nights. ‘Maybe.’ Her tone didn’t denote agreement, just that she wanted to close the subject.

      She wouldn’t leave it. He knew Amy.

10

      KING SAUD UNIVERSITY WEB SITE English Department Student discussion forums Students may post articles or topics for discussion. All contributions must be appropriate and must be in English.

       Topic: Veiled Knowledge

      Ibrahim: Red Rose, why did you post this article for us to read? If you think as a woman in Islam you have the right of leadership, you are totally wrong, because this kind of job is only valid for men.

      For women to read and understand.

      Allah Subhanahu Ta’âla (Az-Zukhruf: 18) says clearly that women are deficient in intellect and understanding. Women are physically weak and unable to fulfil the duties of leadership. It has thus been made the right of men only.

      These are the rules that a Muslim woman should obey and these make her unfit for leadership should she be foolish enough to aspire to such a thing:

      1. A woman should at all times remain in her home, but if due to any shar’ie necessity (eg Hajj, visiting her parents, visiting the ill, etc), then she should cover her entire body including the face.

      2. She must not try to seduce strange men by making her voice low and attractive when speaking with them and she should not walk in such a manner that would attract the attention of men.

      3. Intermingling of the sexes is prohibited in Islam.

      Red Rose, I’ll tell you a real story about an American Muslim woman who worked as a professor; she came to the King Saud University in Riyadh for a lecture. She said strong words to the girls that she saw with their bad behaviour and clothes. She said, ‘I wish that I was born in a Muslim family so I could do as much as possible to bless the great one, unlike you who are wearing unsuitable clothes and behaving in an immodest and foolish way, like the women in my country do.’ That was said by an American Muslim woman. How do you answer this?

      Red Rose: Ibrahim, too many men in our country are thinking like you. I am good Muslim, but I have travelled. I have been to place where good Muslim women drive car, vote and travel without the permission of husband or father. I think it is time we see the difference between Islam and custom in this country too. Maybe you will be liking this article better. This one was written by a Saudi man:

       Women and Islam–a new perspective

       What is perceived as the rise of fundamentalism in the Islamic world has led to the criticism that women pay the price for the reestablishment of faith. Is it true that women are oppressed within Islam, or is this a distortion of what the Q’ran itself teaches?

      When these accusations are made by the secularists, then the Islamists must turn again to the words of the prophet…

      The university was on the main road to the north east of Riyadh. Roisin sat in the back of the car, enveloped in her abaya, and tried not to flinch too visibly as her driver carved a straight route through the weaving traffic. The inside of the car smelled faintly of leather and spices. The chill from the air-conditioning made a disorientating contrast to the hard glare of the sun outside.

      The driver hadn’t СКАЧАТЬ