Twice the Marine

As Fatima bin Laden and Lt. Basel Zakly Faris, USMC, talked over coffee in the cafeteria, she did as her uncle instructed before sending her off: In recruiting a Muslim in the U.S. military to be her secret ally, the first weakness to seek out is doubt. But she found nothing there. He was a Marine, by nature and training confident.

Closely related to doubt, however, is conflict, and Baz seemed to have plenty of that. Born in Detroit to Egyptian immigres, he was raised very Muslim but also very American. He was proud to be a Marine, serving the country that elevated freedom of religion to its pantheon of core beliefs and values. But he was also well aware of a double standard. As a Muslim, he had to be "twice the Marine" anybody else was, as if on some level guys never forgot he was Muslim, never stopped wondering if he was part of some sleeper cell. He could be insulted, or he could be the best Marine in the Corps. He chose the latter, to be a beacon for Allah the most merciful and all Islam.

"You mentioned in class," Fatima said, "that you were in Afghanistan. If I may I ask, how was it for you to ... " She paused to sip her coffee. "... to take up arms against fellow Muslims?" (Including my dear uncle, she didn't add.)

"I took up arms against men who speak neither for Allah, praise his name, nor for Islam. I took up arms against men who killed 3,000 people in America on that day, including my beloved uncle. It was they who first took up arms against fellow Muslims living in peace."

Doubt and conflict are funny things. Or as funny as freshly sharpened double-edged swords get. It bothered Fatima that her uncle had not publicly condemned the Zarqawi monster in Iraq for proclaiming war on Shia Muslims and murdering thousands of them. There are too many threats to Islam from non-Muslims, she believed, fighting amongst ourselves only aids the enemies of Islam.

"Actually," Bas said, "there is a young imam here who speaks to these matters, Imam Ibrahim al-Shakr, of Syrian birth. I would very much like to introduce you to him."

Syria? The cruel, powerful Hezbollah came out of Syria. Perhaps, Fatima wondered, there was more to Baz's story than he was letting on?

There was, indeed, but for reasons she couldn't yet imagine, unaware as she was that Bas was also recruiting her -- to a cause he deemed the most important in the world, the rescue of Islam.

Before that could happen, her friend Jennifer Hira and Baz's friend Joe Matsuo breezed into the cafeteria, from their smiles and glances obviously together. "Joe's off today and he's gonna take me out to where him and Baz work. You wanna come?"

To Ford Island, her dear uncle's target No. 1? "Sure, why not?"