BLOWBACK by Deva Mukul

Author:Deva, Mukul [Deva, Mukul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Published: 2013-02-19T18:30:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Asif only sent in the first probe after Iqbal and he had met over a dozen times. That day, classes had finished early and Asif, Imtiaz and Iqbal were sitting together in an empty coffee shop across the road from the German Bakery in Koregaon Park.

‘Isn’t it amazing how easily we Muslims bear the brunt of every single problem?’ Asif remarked to no one in particular as he tossed down the newspaper in his hand.

‘Why? What’s happened?’ Imtiaz looked at him curiously.

‘Some bloody fool calling the Palestinians terrorists just because they are fighting for a homeland.’

Break the ice by talking about Palestine, that’s what Asif had been told by Mujib. He was quoting from the jihadi recruitment manual. ‘Don’t scare away a potential recruit by talking about the concerns of Muslims right at the beginning; doing that will make it obvious you’re trying to recruit him. And don’t get into arguments about religion or even criticize him. As the conversation progresses, you can talk about the mujahideen and the jihad, but always in a general, casual way. Avoid mentioning any particular group since your potential recruit may be negatively affected by the calumny spread by the media about that particular group.’

While Asif was talking, Iqbal leaned forward and rapidly scanned the article Asif had been reading. ‘Obviously, Asif!’ he said when he had finished. ‘A suicide bomber killed twelve people in a shopping mall; almost all of them were kids or women buying groceries. What else should they call the guy?’

Don’t make it too easy for them. Let them work at recruiting you; don’t just roll over and fall into their laps. The harder they work at recruiting you, the more they will tend to trust you when you finally agree to join them.

‘So you think it’s fine, all that the Palestinians are going through because of these Jews?’ Asif countered.

‘I never said that, but is this the right way to fight back?’

‘What option do the Palestinians have? The Jews are well armed and have powerful countries like America backing them. They are crushing the Palestinians and forcing them to fight back with whatever little they have.’

‘Come on, Asif, let’s at least get our facts straight.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘How come nobody is ready to acknowledge that the first major terror bombing took place on 24 February 1948, a good ten days before the Jewish state even came into existence? It was a massive triple truck bomb that killed about fifty-four people on Jerusalem’s Ben Yehuda street.’

‘You seem very well informed.’

‘Why shouldn’t I be?’ Iqbal countered defiantly.

‘All right, all right, but what’s the relevance?’

‘The relevance is this, Asif – the Arabs have a problem with the mere thought of a Jewish state, so let’s not say the suicide bombings and terror attacks are only because of the occupation, because I don’t think that’s true.’

‘You sound like a Jewish sympathizer,’ Imtiaz spat out angrily.

After a pause Asif asked, ‘So you don’t think what’s happening to the Palestinians, our fellow Muslims, is wrong?’

‘No!’ Iqbal shook his head vehemently.

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