Stan Mason - Stopping World War Three

‘Why do you patronise a hotel that’s owned by Arabs,’ I asked him as I sat down at the table opposite him.

‘Tell me,’ he countered. ‘What’s this obsession you have about the Jews hating the Arabs. Many of my friends are both Jews and Arabs. I like them and respect them. The people we detest are the terrorists and fanatics who strive to die to become martyrs. To us, such people resemble the kamikaze cult of the Japanese in the Second World War. The Allied forces both feared and resented them too. Let me put it another way. Do you hate all the Irish people because of the past actions of the Irish Republican Party?’

I shrugged my shoulders accepting the logic of his argument. The newspapers had conditioned the Western world for such a long time that everyone believed there was a fundamental root of hatred between all Jews and Arabs. Musaphia had made it quite clear that this was an illusion.

‘There’s work for you to do,’ he went on. ‘That’s why I’m here. The problem is that your services are required in two places at once. Firstly, we need you to obtain the plans of the new prototype of the laser gun. I understand you’ve already visited the weaponry division. That’s good! But we also need your participation in an international bridge congress in Istanbul.’

‘Istanbul!’ I echoed loudly unable to contain my surprise, looking around to see if I had attracted attention. He made a sound to silence me so strongly that he almost lost the cigar from between his lips. I leaned forward to speak in a hushed voice. ‘Why the hell do you want me to go there?’

‘After a great deal of research,’ continued the old man, adjusting the cigar in his mouth, ‘we’ve come to the conclusion that the rise of Islam will originate in Turkey. The surge of Islam will cause the most profound change in Western Europe, as great as anything emanating from the Far East. The biggest impact will come from Turkey which prides itself as Europe’s bridge into Asia and vice versa. Turkey’s politicians believe that the country is immune from the activities of the virulent Shias. Let’s face it, Turkey’s the largest force in NATO after the United States. Those politicians are deeply mistaken. Turkey acts as a garrison between Soviet Asia, the Levant and the Persian Gulf. It is also extremely loyal to the rigid secularism of its founder, Kemal Ataturk. The number of people wearing yashmaks and chadors… the new religious uniform… is increasing steadily. Forgive me if I use the word ‘steadily’ euphemistically. Bu the end of the first quarter of the twenty-first century, the population of Turkey will reach well over a hundred million people who, most likely, will seek recognition as the main Islamic power. Turkey has become the leading light in the Islamic Conference already while the public observance of Islam grows every year. The focus has been ‘the cults’ which are really divisions of the same religion. They derive their strength from the movement of population which has occurred as more people move from the country to the towns and cities. Some include groups such as the Naqshibendi with roots in Egypt to influence people as far as Afghanistan, the Suliemanji and the Rifai. At the strictest level cults organise student adherents into segregated dormitories and prayer schools. Here the spiritual leader becomes the absolute authority on every aspect of life. There are signs that the strength of numbers is leading Turkey to form a non-Arab Islamic union across a huge area of Asia through Afghanistan and Iran to Pakistan. A union of that magnitude will draw in Arab and non-Arab Moslems into its fold. Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, large parts of India, Indonesia and elements of many other countries will want to join. You see, the secular faiths have run out of steam. Those like Ba’athism in Iraq and Syria, Nasserism in Egypt, even Marxism in Algeria. In their place, mystical and fanatical religion have provided a way back to what people believe was a golden age. In the forefront of this revival, is the militant Shia which is ideal if you want something done and then fight for it. The concept is becoming more popular year by year and Turkey will become the nucleus when it all starts to come together. Its allegiance to NATO will be swept aside like driftwood in the path of a tidal wave. Yet the legacy of Ataturk may be in doubt. The army in Turkey would prefer Islam rather than any other way of life which is not surprising when one considers that most of the population is Muslim. But there’s another reason too. Reservoirs of oil exist in Siberia which eventually will dwarf that of the Middle East. Drilling has already proved to be successful and some Russian billionaires have become evident over recent years. When those reservoirs are tapped fully through joint ventures with other nations, the Arab states would find their control of oil production is very much weakened and the price reduced considerably. Ultimately, poverty could start to manifest itself in the Middle East even before fifty years pass. If this happens, the rise of Islam could be accelerated by twenty or thirty years. We have little time to waste.’

‘But how can a single country like Turkey affect a development of that nature?’ I asked benignly.

‘There are the republics of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kirghizia and Kazakhstan. With the break up of the USSR, Turkey claims the responsibility for those republics. It sees a remarkable opportunity… one that relates to at least a share in the oil reservoir in Siberia. If Islam could set its plans in motion fast enough, it could accomplish control of the those reservoirs and ultimate hold the world at ransom for oil. At that time it would control some eighty-five per cent of the world’s oil resources. Within a few year Islam would become a threat to the stability of the West. Many Russian Muslims, including millions of new converts, could be facing Istanbul instead of Moscow. Look at the debacle that occurred in Yugoslavia because someone jumped the gun there. Turkey may restore a revival of the Ottomans to recapture the old Ottoman lands in the Balkans. They were victorious in Kosovo in 1389 over the Serbs, They could do it again.’

‘Well, Mr. Musaphia,’ I told him calmly, ‘It’s all very well for you to tell me these things but I’m not really impressed. For one thing, I’m not a 21st Century Crusader and I do not wish to become one. There are hundreds of various causes in the world and, to tell you the truth, hard-hearted as it may sound, I’m not interested in getting involved with any of them. Call me selfish if you like, I shan’t be offended. I only became involved in this charade of yours to protect myself, my wife and my secretary. Now I find that my wife was kidnapped and my secretary is behaving so suspiciously that I can’t trust her any more. I’ve really no other interest in helping you.’

‘Then why did you come here to meet me?’

‘I came to plead my case. I want everyone to get off my back and leave me alone. But, more importantly, I want my wife returned to me.’

He puffed furiously on his cigar even though it was unlit. ‘The organisation hasn’t abducted your wife,’ he revealed voluntarily. ‘If in fact she was abducted it wasn’t by us.’

‘Well that’s hard cheese!’ I riposted sharply. ‘Perhaps it would be more practical if you found out how I could get her back.’

‘Forgive me if we took too much for granted. It was assumed that when you learned of the danger you’d be interested in helping. We were told you were a humanist. At least that’s what Primar said.’

‘Primar!’ I repeated with despair. ‘Now there’s another thing. He’s got the microfilm of the plans that were given to me by Menel. They’re the false ones. But who does he really work for? I haven’t fathomed it out yet. Only he plays pretty rough with a bodyguard named Kemal.’