Paul Maier - The Constantine Codex

Now a young Muslim stood up in a row very near the dais. He clenched a fist held high and shouted, “You are a satanic infidel whom Allah will surely strike down, Weber, and then condemn you to hell where you belong! Your days are numbered, Web-”

The voice was instantly silenced when Turkish police rushed in, grabbed the man, and gagged him, then hustled him out of the basilica. But a great commotion had arisen as a result, which ended with the banging of two gavels.

“You may continue, Professor Weber,” Patriarch Bartholomew said.

“No, I’ve finished my response, honored moderators.” Jon sat down and looked to Shannon, but her lovely face was warped with concern. Osman and Richard on either side of her, however, were smiling and flashing Jon thumbs-up signals.

Abbas al-Rashid stood with an enormous frown and opened, “As for the terrible interruption just now, ladies and gentlemen, you have just heard Islam at its worst! And yet this was not Islam at all, which is a religion of submission to Allah and respect for humanity, but a misguided fanatic who thought he was a Muslim. I apologize to you, Professor Weber!”

A humble bow accompanied his words, but Jon shook his head, held up his hands, and said, “It is nothing!”

Abbas’s features relaxed into a warm smile as he took up the defense of Islam against points that Jon had raised. “My worthy opponent questions the revelations given to the Prophet-may his name be blessed-because Muhammad himself questioned them at first. But of course he did, which is exactly what one would expect of a very rational person not given to delusions. The very questioning proves his rationality, and I am grateful for it. Clearly, Allah provided his wife Khadijah to reassure the Prophet-may his name be blessed-perhaps much as he sent Aaron along with Moses to confront the pharaoh of Egypt.

“Now, regarding wives, the Hebrew Bible-which Christians call the Old Testament-does indeed provide us precedents. With David having ten wives and Solomon supposedly a thousand, one need not quarrel over just twelve for the final prophet in their line.”

Jon squirmed as the audience laughed, regretting that he had ever raised the wives issue against his earlier intentions. Never mind that Abbas had deftly dodged his main argument-the issue of Muhammad’s inconsistency-he had evoked laughter, which would endear the audience and win points while making Jon look foolish. Abbas was shrewd, no doubt about it!

He continued. “My worthy colleague questions the Holy Qur’an because of ‘inconsistencies’ he claims to find in its pages. Well, so be it. There are contradictions also in the Bible, as in every literary work, whether written by man or God. But this is no problem whatever, since Islam alone provides the solution.”

Abbas reached for a copy of the Qur’an lying on the table, picked it up, and said, “I read from Sura-that is, chapter 2, verse 106: ‘Whatever communications we abrogate or cause to be forgotten, we bring one better than it or like it. Do you not know that Allah has power over all things?’ Clearly, then, the later statements of Allah in the Qur’an replace the earlier statements in every point of perceived disagreement.”

Applause broke out in the eastern half of the sanctuary, which was promptly silenced by the moderators.

“However, there is no disagreement in the Holy Qur’an that Jesus escaped death on the cross. No, not at all. Again I read, this time from Sura 4:57: ‘They killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts with no certain knowledge… for of a surety they killed him not.’ Do you see, Professor Weber, the historical references that you cite thought Jesus had been crucified-‘so it was made to appear to them.’ Allah would never have permitted his faithful servant Isa to endure this. God would not allow any of his prophets to be killed.

“And now to Jesus and Muhammad-two great prophets. You seemed to deny that Muhammad could perform miracles. But our hadith-our traditions-tell us that once when the Prophet was asked, ‘Why don’t you do miracles as did Jesus?’ he responded by holding his thumb and index finger around the full moon, then passing his other index finger through the middle of the orb, and half the moon fell east of Mecca, and the other half fell to the west. No, I don’t believe that this physically happened, but the miracle is that bystanders saw exactly that-which is a miracle. And what of the Prophet’s miraculous midnight ride from Mecca to Jerusalem and up to heaven and back?”

Good heavens! Jon thought to himself. Can Abbas really believe all that-this rare voice of Muslim moderation? And yet if I poke fun at such credulity, the place will go up in flames. He must just be trying to please his own right wing. That, in fact, seemed to be the case, since Abbas hurried on to the next point. “How shall I respond to my colleague’s concerns as to how sharia law is being applied today and how women have been treated in Islam? I would ask you all to prepare for a shock… I agree with him! Yes, I agree with him!”

Amid rumblings of surprise, he declared, “The words of the Prophet-may his name be blessed-have been followed too literally by some in the world of Islam, who forget that he was often speaking to followers in very difficult military situations, rather than laying down rules to be observed at all times and places. This is no more and no less than the same problems Christians have with how they interpret some of the words of Jesus, who also often spoke harshly. He said, for example, ‘If your eye offend you, pluck it out!’ I sincerely hope that no Christian would be insane enough to take that advice literally.

“And so, I would like to close this phase of our discussion on an irenic note: Professor Weber and I have much in common, since we both oppose any hateful fanaticism in religion that would lead believers to think that violence is obedience to Allah’s, to God’s, commands. It is not!

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.”

Both sides of the sanctuary now joined in spirited applause, which grew even louder after Jon and Abbas shook hands.

It was now noon, and time for lunch.

In order to avoid the press and the crowds, Click, Clack, and a detail from the CIA and the Turkish special police escorted Jon, Shannon, Richard, and Osman through a small exit in the southern apse of Hagia Sophia and into several black Mercedes sedans. They were whisked eastward around the basilica and into the gates of the Topkapi Palace grounds, where walking tourists parted ranks to let them drive by. Stopping at the eastern end of the enclave, they descended a steep flight of stairs to the Konyali Topkapi restaurant and its beautiful view overlooking the Bosporus. Here they all sat down at outdoor tables in an area separated from the rest of the restaurant terrace.

Osman and Dick were ebullient over the first half of the debate. Ferris, in fact, gave Jon a big hug and ordered champagne. Shannon was finally smiling again too, though she voiced her apprehension over the fanatic who had yelled his hatred inside the basilica. Kemet Bankasi, one of their Turkish liaisons, overheard her and said, “Again, we’re very sorry about that. He turned out to be a young student from Bodrum who is studying under a radical cleric there.”

“But how did he ever get a seat so near the front?” Dick Ferris asked.

“That’s still a mystery. He wouldn’t tell police, but it could be as simple as using a chair that was unoccupied for some reason. We thought we had screened everyone properly, but-well, one in eight thousand isn’t a bad average, is it?”

They all chuckled.

In discussing strategy for the afternoon, the talk was so spirited that they barely noticed the delicious seafood luncheon the chef had specially prepared. Jon passed on the champagne, since he wanted to keep all his wits in gear for rounds three and four.