Whirlwind of Mercy: The Story of a Country at War with the Truth
by Pearl Adams, chapters 9 & 10
Chapter 9, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – The Caretaker
“Assalamun Alaikun8.”
“Waalekum salam warahamatu wabarakatuhu9.”
The Saudi Crown Prince, Najeeb Nasri cleared his throat and said, “My brethren, I have summoned you here because our religion is on the verge of collapse in Nigeria. You all know that it is that country that has been holding up the light of Prophet Mohammed (Allah bless his name) in the African continent. You all know how our martyrs in that country have kept infidels from polluting our brethren there. Now, our unity is on trial. Sheikh Abdullahi Umar has been sent by the Muslim Ummah10 in Nigeria to ask for our intervention.
I have been following events in that country with keen interest. I do not know what we can do to help. If Nigerians were ravaged by natural famine, it would be easy to mobilize Muslims in our great Kingdom to send them food. If invading forces had attacked them, we would even contemplate hiring mercenaries to assist them. The situation as I see it is beyond human comprehension. People have food and cannot eat. The food disappears before their eyes! Now, we hear that Christians have been given a reprieve through what they call ‘Holy Communion’.
This is nothing more than a tiny piece of bread and fruit juice! Sheikh Abdullahi told me that people are thronging Churches offering the Communion just to stay alive. Alive on a tiny piece of bread that can fit into the nostril! He said some Muslims have embraced this false religion just to stay alive. In fact, that’s the reason the Muslim Ummah sent the Sheikh to us. They want to know what our position is on the matter.”
Prince Abdallah Muhhamad, the next in line to Crown Prince raised his bulky frame from the Persian carpet and stared at the Nigerian.
“What kind of soldiers have you people been training that would readily abandon faith in the time of trial? If you had done your duty to Allah, our brethren would have been emboldened to starve to death rather than embrace false religion. Muslim leaders in Nigeria should be held responsible for this sacrilege.”
Abdullahi was surprised by the tirade. He had come with hopes that Allah would use the Crown Prince to deliver hapless Muslims who are being forced by circumstances beyond their control to denounce Islam. He didn’t expect the attack from Prince Muhammad. He drew in a long breath and turned to the angry Prince.
“You could be right my Prince. I apologize on behalf of the Muslim Ummah in my country. This thing took us by surprise so we didn’t have the time to sensitize people on what to do. I believe most Muslims who accepted to eat the strange food did so just to stay alive. They have not renounced their faith.”
Prince Muhammad demeanor showed that he wasn’t impressed with Abdullahi’s explanation. He said, “I still believe that this unfortunate incident would have been handled in a more matured way if our brethren in Nigeria had obeyed the commandment of Allah. According to Sura74-20, anyone who renounced the faith has violated the ties of blood. He is a traitor and should be treated as such. Such people are cursed by Allah, and have been bereft of sight and hearing. My brethren, it’s not too late to stem this apostasy. A critical situation requires a critical solution. I suggest that everyone who has tasted of this devil food should face instant judgment, death.”
Abdullahi could barely contain his irritation.
“With due respect, my Prince, you are talking about mass murder. As at yesterday when I left my country, more than ten thousand Muslims have participated in the ritual. About thirty thousand people have so far lost their lives in the strange famine that is afflicting our people. How would you execute the judgment you have prescribed?”
The Crown Prince raised his right hand. “That’s enough, my brethren. Muhammad, I agree with you that the situation in Nigeria was mismanaged by our brethren there but I do not support your prescription. Who knows what Allah wants to achieve with this development? When Sheikh Abdullahi briefed me yesterday, I took the liberty of inviting Sheikh Konrak Ashie to join us in the meeting today. For those of us not acquainted with him, he is the Head of Contemporary Religion at Medina University. He will brief us on the Christian Holy Communion.”
Ashie picked his briefcase with an air of importance. It wasn’t everyday an ordinary Professor, particularly a Briton, is called upon to teach arrogant Sheikhs anything on religion. Ashamed of his uncharitable thoughts, he raised a silent prayer to Allah for forgiveness. He would always remain eternally grateful to the Crown Prince for taking him under his wings. He remembered his first encounter with Islam in 1987. He had visited Jeddah with a cousin shortly after the death of his father. He couldn’t recall what informed the choice of Jeddah.
One day while on a stroll, he heard a girl weeping at the back of a shop close to the apian way leading to Medina University. He felt a tug in the heart and walked up to her. She was in her early twenties and very beautiful. She cringed when he touched her hand to comfort her. He stood there looking at her and falling in love for the first time in his life.
She eventually composed herself enough to tell him the source of her tears. Her parents planned to wed her to one of her cousins she wasn’t particularly enamored with. She was in her third year at Medina University and was hoping her parents would allow her graduate before talking of marriage. She wasn’t ready for marriage yet. He tried to console her but tears kept flowing from her beautiful brown eyes.
He eventually convinced her to return to her home and trust God to sort out the situation. That was how their friendship started and one thing led to the other. His cousin, not completely convinced he was doing the right thing, went back to England even before the expiration of their three weeks tourist visa. He couldn’t leave Khalida. With her support, he secured admission at Medina University to read Arabic. Because she was his best teacher, it was natural that she should tell him about Prophet Mohammed whom she loved with a passion. Those who knew them were not surprised when they got married and he converted to Islam, because theirs was a romance destined to be. He looked at the gathering, adjusting his horn-rimmed glasses.
“My Crown Prince, reference to the Christian Holy Communion was first made in chapter 6 of the book believed to have been written by John, one of the disciples of Jesus. In verse 35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”. He expounded on this from verses 53-58:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink his
blood, ye have no life in you” Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and will raise him up at the last day.
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that
eateth me, even he shall live by me.
This is that bread which came down from heaven: Not as your fathers did
eat manna, and are dead: He that eateth of this bread shall live forever.
“Of course, his claims provoked outrage among the Jews who could not reconcile them with the laws of Moses. The Bible records that many of his disciples left him on account of this. Even today, Christian groups are divided on whether the Communion is symbolic or represents the actual blood and flesh of Jesus. They also differ on the type of materials used for the Communion. While most denominations go for bread and wine, Christian historians argue that the early Church was less discriminating, as members were allowed to use whatever meal they could afford.
This seeming inconsistency has also found expression in what’s happening in Nigeria, if media account is anything to go by. It has been reported that some members of the new generation Churches are feeding properly, as long as the meals are presented as Holy Communion. However, the orthodox denominations, especially Catholic and Anglican mission insist on holding their Communion services once a day, where only the wafers and wine are served.
It is also pertinent to note that the disciples of Jesus did not partake of the Communion until the eve of his crucifixion, in what is known as the “Last Supper”. I would like to read some of the things Jesus said about the Communion on that occasion. The Gospel according to Luke, chapter 22 verses 19 and 20 reads:
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it and gave unto them, saying,
This is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me.
Likewise also the cup after the supper Saying, This cup is the New Testament
in my blood, which is shed for you.
After his death, Paul made reference to the Communion in his first letter to the Corinthian Christians. This was actually in response to the confusion over the validity of the ritual. I would like to read some verses in chapters ten and eleven of that book. I will take verse 16 of chapter ten first. It says:
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of
Christ? The bread which we break, is
it not the communion of the body of Christ?
In verses 23 to 30 of chapter eleven, Paul had this to say:
For I have received of the Lord that
Which also I delivered unto you, that
the Lord Jesus the same night in
which he was betrayed took bread,
And when he had given thanks, he
broke it, and said, Take eat: this is
my body, which is broken for you:
this do in remembrance of Me. After
the same manner also he took the
cup, when he had supped, saying,
This cup is the New Testament in my
blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink
it, in remembrance of me.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and
drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s
death till he come. Wherefore
whosoever shall eat this bread, and
drink this cup of the Lord unworthily
shall be guilty of the body and blood
of the Lord. But let a man examine
himself, and so let him eat of that
bread, and drink of that cup. For he
that eateth and drinketh
unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself,
not discerning the Lord’s body.
For this cause many are weak and
sickly among you, and many sleep.
The Crown Prince sat upright in his chair. He had this uncomfortable feeling that some unseen forces had crept into the room while the Bible was being read. He couldn’t place it, but he knew they were no longer alone. He was gripped with fear but summoned courage to ask the only question he had always wanted to ask since one of his friends in school had the misfortune of being expelled because his parents were found reading the Bible.
“Is there any scientific proof that the blood of Jesus has the power to change a sinner to a saint as the Christians claim?”
Ashie scratched his chin. He wasn’t expecting the Crown Prince to ask what sounded like a daft question. Of course, no one in his right senses could look the Crown Prince in the eye and say, “My Prince that was daft!”
“My Prince, I believe it’s generally believed among our people in the Muslim world that Jesus was a mere man and so could not have given anybody new life. Only Allah can do that. That hasn’t stopped the Christians, especially the fundamentalists from polluting the world with their nonsense. I believe every Muslim owe Allah the responsibility of countering this falsehood.”
Ashie’s comment was like music in the ears of Prince Abdallah.
He pointed his stubby fingers at Sheikh Abdullahi and said, “I wish we had committed Muslims like Ashie in Nigeria. They would have known what to do with those traitors who have spat on the face of Allah by partaking of that demonic ritual. I believe that situation can still be remedied.”
The Crown Prince saw the anger in Abdullahi’s eyes and felt sorry for the Nigerian who was being heckled for something beyond his control. He whispered a silent prayer to Allah to help him take the right decision. But he knew the meeting had to be rescheduled because the tension was palpable.
“My brethren, I believe we should sleep over what we have discussed so far. We will meet again tomorrow same time to take a decision on the matter. Good night. May the blessing of Allah remain with us forever.”
As the Crown Prince left the room, he had an uncanny feeling that someone or something was following him. He whirled around expecting to see someone. He muttered something to himself and hurried to his room. He couldn’t understand what had suddenly come over him. He had never been known to be chicken hearted. He must confront whatever it was that was haunting him.
As he sat down on his reclining chair, he felt at home and ready to face even Satan himself. He picked up a copy of the current edition of Newsweek. The situation in Nigeria was the main focus.
The magazine reported that more than fifty thousand people had died in Nigeria since the strange plague broke out in the country more than three months ago. Three months only? And Prince Abdallah wants us to add to the statistics by slaying hapless Muslims that are only trying to stay alive by eating and drinking what they know not. What was that he heard? Did he speak to himself? There it was again. “Which God are you serving?” What kind of question was that? He knew he couldn’t have asked himself such a bland question. Is Allah not one?
“You know not what you serve and you will not come to me that I might give you life”.
The Crown Prince dropped the magazine, fear now very visible in his eyes. “Who are you and what do you want from me?”
“I am Jesus. You call me Isa in the book you claim was given you by my Father. You asked for proof of my power to change the lives of men. What better way can we do this except by changing your life? O yes, you think in your heart that you are righteous. If I must change a sinner to a saint, it certainly is not you. Do you know the highest form of wickedness? It’s in taking away the liberty that My Father has freely given to men. You put men in bondage to serve what you serve.
If my Father who created man has not taken away his liberty, who are you to do so? Look around your Kingdom; everyone must conform to your way of thinking. They must accept what you accept. Is that not wickedness?” And yet you think you are righteous. You are baffled by what is happening in Nigeria. Don’t think your Kingdom will be spared the rod of judgment. My Father is just and will not leave the wicked unpunished.”
The Crown Prince sat transfixed. He couldn’t move his eyes from the face of the man who sat with so much ease on his visitors’ chair. But he looked different from the picture the Christians present to the world. He looked like an Arab!
“I am who I am. I reveal myself as it suits my purpose. I am sending you to Nigeria”.
“Me. Lord? Who will believe that you appeared to me, a Muslim?”
“You will go straight to President Akinluyi. What you have to say is for his ears only. Let him decide what to do with the information”
“But Lord, don’t you think any of the Christian leaders would’ve been better suited for this kind of assignment?”
“My Father chose you. All are His servants and He does what pleases Him in heaven and in earth. That does not in any way imply that He approves of your religion, after all, He spoke through a donkey. Let me answer the question in your heart. My Father gave man a free will right from the beginning so you have the right to choose how you relate with Him. God desires all men to know Him as Father, but He accommodates the wishes of those who choose to be servants. You have servants in your palace and they can’t occupy the space in your heart meant for your sons.
Those who have invited Me into their lives have been given the power to become the sons of God. That does not mean that my Father loves the Muslim or Hindu or atheist less. Everyone has been invited to partake of divine life through my death and resurrection. I am a gift from my Father. You don’t force a gift on someone. It must be accepted willingly.”
The Crown Prince sighed with regrets. He remembered a friend in his high school that was expelled because his parents were found fraternizing with Christian Missionaries. He remembered the pain in the boy’s eyes when he the Prince joined other pupils to rain curses on him for polluting the Kingdom with false religion.
“Lord forgive me, I have done so many terrible things to Christians. I wish I could make amends.”
“Your decisions are always informed by the light you have, which is darkness. I haven’t come to preach salvation to you, though I wish with all my heart that you could come to the knowledge of the truth because I love you. You have ample opportunities to listen to the gospel through so many channels. My Father has made it possible for everyone living in your day to hear the good news. As I said to the Pharisees, it will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for you in this generation who have seen the move of the Holy Spirit and yet hardened your heart. Verily, verily I say to you no excuse will be tenable before my Father on the Day of Judgment.
You will leave for Nigeria tomorrow. Tell President Akinluyi to send for elders of Oporoma town in Oporoma Local Government of Bayelsa State. They have the key that will stop the plague in his country.”
It was quite a while before he realized that his “Visitor’ had left. What will be the end of this? He had never believed in visions and had scoffed at those who claimed to have seen angels. What will he tell his people? Would they believe his tale? He had better keep this to himself. But he has to tread softly on the Nigerian issue. Of course, he has to look for a way to dissuade Prince Abdallah against his insistence that those who denounced their faith be eliminated. He was still thinking of the fire he saw in the eyes of his Visitor when he dozed off.
Chapter 10, Moscow, Russia – The Citadel
“Lendz, our listening post at the “Kingdom” has picked up an interesting stuff. I’m sending it to you right away.”
“All right Sir.”
Lendz Mozzurt, the Head of Operations of the KGB chuckled. Listening to any communication intercept from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia always made his day. Those prudish Arabs sure know how to live it up, their religious airs notwithstanding. The intercept must carry heavy stuff for the staff at the listening post to route it through the Head of the KGB, Valdimar Viktor. A knock on his door signaled the arrival of Ludim Berzer, Personal Assistant to the Director-General. Obviously the KGB tsar did not want to take chances! His curiosity rose.
“Good day Sir.”
“How are you Berzer?”
“I am fine Sir. I have a package for you from the big man. You need to sign for it Sir.”
“That’s okay.”
As he reached for his pen, Lendz buzzed his Secretariat.
“Anna, tell others in the Secretariat that I will be incommunicado for two hours. On no account must I be disturbed. Is that understood?”
“Yes Sir.”
Anna Krinvov muttered under her breath. She felt slighted that Berzer took the parcel she saw in his hands straight to her boss. She’d been with Lendz for more than thirteen years and had never been shoddy in handling documents. She wondered why she was sidelined this time around. Her appetite for hot information was whetted but there was no way she could ferret information from her boss without losing her job. She shrugged her shoulders and went back to reading her novel.
In the adjoining room, Lendz switched on the intercept decoder and sat down to listen to the conversation between the Crown Prince and other Islamic leaders. He was at the tail end of the recording when a call came through on his intercom. It was Valdimar.
“Lendz, I’m sorry to disturb you. I know you must be listening to our interesting package. Something else has come up. Meet me in my office in twenty minutes. That should give you enough time to enjoy the road show.”
“All right Sir.”
Lendz released the ‘pause’ key on the decoder and continued listening to the message, his mind in turmoil. What would Russia do if faced with a similar situation as Nigeria? He knew that Valdimar would ask him the same question. He thought deep but found no answer. How could one fight invisible forces? He recalled an interview the CNN reporter in Nigeria had with a Nigerian lady whose child had died in the plague. The woman claimed that when she fasted for seven days, the Christian God opened her eyes to see some tiny creatures with sharp teeth feeding on meals that would have been eaten by Nigerians. She also said the Divine being told her that the only help Nigerians could receive from Him was the Christian Holy Communion.
He Lendz had scoffed at her claims, which he attributed to hallucination. He was sure the CNN reporter shared his view because he, the reporter asked the woman if she had ever seen God to know that the voice she heard was His.
As the decoder red light blinked, signaling the end of the message, he switched it off from the mains and picked up his briefing pad. He wished he could call his wife Merla to ask her counsel on what to tell Valdimar. He couldn’t try that of course. Everyone at the KGB Headquarters knew that all external lines were bugged. He would have to take it step by step, hoping that Valdimar himself would realize the futility of expecting a mere mortal to proffer solution to what is clearly beyond human comprehension.
The three minutes walk to Valdimar’s office took forever in his mind because he dreaded the encounter. He was so lost in thought that he almost hit his head on the pillar holding the crest of the KGB, standing besides a water fountain that also served as the central monitoring unit for the eleventh floor of the KGB headquarters. Of course, personnel weren’t expected to loiter within the complex under whatever guise. Those he met on the way to Valdimar’s office moved out of the way as he approached them. There was no room for over-familiarity in the KGB. The only person who got within a distance of him was his former assistance at the United Nations, Igor Palovic.
“Dobry din Ser11”
“Kak bela12?”
“Charashe Ser13”
Lendz smiled to himself. No language on earth compared to Russian. This was what he missed most during his tenure as the Russian representative at the United Nations office in New York. It wasn’t as if there weren’t other Russians in the city, but he was always so uptight and conscious of the fact that he was working under cover to interact freely with them. He was still smiling as he walked into the office of his boss.
“Dobry din Ser”
“Ah, Lendz, kak bela?
“Velikalepna14!”
“Good. Sit down. Sit down. You served in Nigeria some years back. Are you acquainted with General Dickson Okwuechie?”
“Yes Sir. He was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Ibadan Battalion when I served in the country. We met at the home of Ambassador Paladin Dober. He accompanied the then Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Ahmadu to a luncheon at the Ambassador’s residence.”
“Okwuechie is planning to shoot his way to power”
“That’s not surprising Sir. The Nigerian military has always prided itself as the last hope of the Nigerian state. You will agree that President Akinluyi has clearly lost control of the situation in that country. Would the military perform the magic? Would they be able to reign in whatever forces that are plaguing that country? I wonder what our trigger happy soldiers would do if Russia is ever faced with a similar situation.”
“That’s a discussion for another day Lendz. What do you think of the package from the Kingdom?”
“Sir, I believe any attempt by Islamic militants in Nigeria to enforce a ‘fatwah15’ against their brethren perceived to be traitors would lead to religious war in that country. Knowing the propensity of Islamic fundamentalists for violence and their rabid hatred for the West, there is no way American and other Western interests would be spared. We must stop Abdallah and his loyalists in the Kingdom from instigating carnage in Nigeria. The world cannot afford another holocaust.”
“I agree with you Lendz. That’s why I summoned you. Ambassador Olev Khodovsky at the Kingdom called me thirty minutes ago. He said the Crown Prince suddenly cancelled the meeting scheduled for today and announced that he was leaving for Nigeria immediately. Something is fishy here and we’ve got to get to the bottom of it. The Ambassador said he was told that the Crown Prince left hurriedly for Nigeria this morning to confer with President Akinluyi. The Ambassador also said everyone in the Kingdom is perplexed because the Crown Prince has never breached protocol in this fashion. Now, what could have informed such urgency and secrecy?”
“Sir, if our sources at the Kingdom can’t give us a lead, we may have to contact the MOSSAD. Their people at the Nigerian Government House should be able to keep a tab on the Crown Prince and his host.
“I don’t want to contact the Israelis except it becomes absolutely necessary. How is our source at the Nigerian Government House?”
“She hasn’t cooperated meaningfully for the past six months. Her handler said there was a misunderstanding over a certain issue, but I didn’t pry. He pleaded for time to sort out their differences. I will ask him to get in touch with her all the same. This is of extreme importance to us. Who knows, we may get a vital clue from her.”
‘Good. Do that and brief me immediately. If we can’t get a breakthrough, I may consider sounding out the MOSSAD. Another thing, what do you think about the so-called ‘Holy Communion’?”
“Sir, before now, I could’ve dismissed it as bull-shit. Not after what has happened in Nigeria and the fact that people are actually being kept alive by partaking of the ritual. I believe we should summon our Scientists to unravel the mystery behind the myth. It can be done Sir.”
“That will be all for now. I will brief President Yuri Povov. This is a decision for politicians. Call the handler of the Nigerian woman immediately. We need to know what role the Crown Prince is playing in this macabre drama”.