The police were combing the area for signs of Mrs. Mahdi. The chief described her car, gave her license-plate number, and displayed a recent photograph along with information about whom to contact with any leads.
The reporters started firing questions, but the chief spoke over them. A white male named Martin Burns was also missing. His absence had first been noticed when he failed to show up for work on Monday morning. The chief displayed his picture and said there was no information about his last known whereabouts.
By early evening, the local stations had begun piecing it together. Unnamed members of a Virginia Beach church said that Ja’dah Mahdi and Martin Burns were part of a group of friends who attended Saturday night church services together. There were rumors that Ja’dah had converted to Christianity. Channel 13 ran an interview with her husband, Fatih Mahdi, who pleaded with Ja’dah, if she was listening, to come home. Various reports implied that Ja’dah had run away, perhaps because she feared reprisals from the Muslim community. Some speculated about the nature of a possible relationship between Ja’dah Mahdi and Martin Burns, but fellow church members dismissed such claims, saying the two were merely friends, part of a larger circle who met together following the church services.
By eleven o’clock, the story was picking up steam on national cable channels. There was video footage of search teams at Sandbridge and snippets of an interview with a square-jawed Fatih Mahdi, his lips trembling as he looked into the camera and asked Ja’dah to at least call and let him know if she was okay.
Alex flipped from one channel to the next, until one newscast nearly jolted him out of his chair. The CNN host was teasing a segment that would air after the break, promising exclusive interviews with the two men who found themselves at the center of the storm-the young pastor of the church attended by Martin Burns and “a prominent imam who leads the Norfolk mosque attended by Ja’dah Mahdi.” The host paused momentarily for effect. “I think you’ll find their perspectives very interesting.”
Alex couldn’t believe what he had just seen. Khalid wouldn’t talk to the press without calling Alex. Would he?
The interview with the pastor added nothing new. Khalid was a different story. It looked like they had placed a backdrop in Khalid’s living room and filmed him there. The cameraperson had used an unflattering angle that somehow accentuated the coarseness of Khalid’s skin, his black beard, and the dark circles under his eyes.
The reporter started with some questions about Ja’dah’s rumored conversion to Christianity. Had Khalid heard about this? Could he confirm or deny it?
Khalid looked stiff and nervous. “Ja’dah was faithful at the mosque and a good Muslim,” he said.
“Did she ever express any doubts about the Islamic faith?”
Khalid shook his head. “I am not at liberty to talk about counseling situations with a member of my mosque.”
“There has been some speculation that perhaps Ms. Mahdi converted to Christianity and thought she was in danger. Would you care to comment on that?”
“In our mosque, she would have nothing to fear,” Khalid said. “Whatever faith she chose to follow, she would always be treated with kindness and respect.”
The reporter looked unconvinced. “There are those who say the Islamic Learning Center has ties with Hezbollah. I think it’s only fair to give you a chance to address those allegations.”
Fair? Alex wanted to shout. Ambushing the imam on the air with a question like that is fair?
Khalid bristled at the question. “We have no ties with Hezbollah,” he insisted. “We are just people of faith, trying to coexist in this country.”
“Khalid Mobassar,” the reporter said, “lead imam at the Islamic Learning Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Thank you for being with us.”
“You are welcome,” Khalid responded, his face still tight with anxiety.
When the show segued back to the studios, Alex dialed his client.
There would be no more interviews.
26
If Alex thought the furor would die down on Tuesday, he was badly mistaken. Commentators speculated endlessly about honor killings and whether women who converted from Islam faced danger. That question focused the attention on Ja’dah’s husband-Fatih Mahdi-and the mosque that he attended.
By early afternoon, cable shows were reporting links between the Islamic Learning Center and Hezbollah. Unnamed sources confirmed that the mosque, which cost an estimated $13 million to build, had been indirectly funded with Hezbollah money.
One show aired an old clip of Khalid Mobassar from 2006, during the heat of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, showing Khalid arguing that Israel had overreacted. He bemoaned the destruction of Beirut and the loss of innocent lives and then asked a series of rhetorical questions. “Where will the Lebanese go for medical assistance? Who will help them rebuild? Who will feed the refugees who have lost their homes? Hezbollah. The Lebanese will go to Hezbollah hospitals. Eat Hezbollah food. Rebuild with Hezbollah funds. Israel’s bombs have forced the Lebanese into the arms of Hezbollah.”
The clip spread like wildfire from one show to the next. By three o’clock, a desperate Khalid was on the phone with Alex. “They’re taking it out of context,” he said. “I was lamenting the fact that this conflict would only strengthen Hezbollah. Let me talk to them. How can it be any worse?”
But Alex held his ground. If Khalid wanted Alex to be his lawyer, then Khalid needed to heed Alex’s advice. No interviews. Period.
“We look like a terrorist cell,” Khalid protested. “I can set the record straight.”
“Will they be able to trace any Hezbollah funds to the mosque?” Alex asked.
A moment’s hesitation told Alex all he needed to know. “It is impossible to say,” Khalid stated. “Hezbollah is like the vines in a jungle. It is a political party. It funds charities. It recruits soldiers and trains doctors. Hezbollah is your neighbor. Most of the Shiite mosques in Beirut take two separate offerings. One for the mosque. Another for Hezbollah. Who can say whether none of the money that helped us build has ties to Hezbollah?”
“No interviews,” Alex said. He had heard enough to keep a gag order on his client until this whole thing blew over. “This is a lose-lose situation.”
“This is why Americans think all Muslims are terrorists,” Khalid responded. “Because the media wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Granted. So let’s not feed the beast.”
“Unfortunately, the beast has already been fed.”***
By late afternoon, Alex had stopped watching television and tried to get some work done. So far, his own name had been kept out of the coverage. Khalid Mobassar wasn’t a suspect, so Alex rationalized that there was no need to inject himself into the story and make it look like Khalid had “lawyered up.” Instead, Alex hoped to lie low for a few days until the story went away. Hopefully, Ja’dah Mahdi and Martin Burns would show up in some other corner of the country and do a round of interviews about how unsafe Ja’dah felt after converting to Christianity, and the whole story would soon disappear.
At which point, Alex and Shannon could go back to representing the Mobassars on the case that really mattered-Ghaniyah’s closed head injury. If-and it was a big if -Shannon ever located the trucking company that started the whole thing, the firm could be looking at a big payday.
The thought prompted Alex to call his partner. “See anything?” he asked when she answered her phone.
“No… well… maybe.” Shannon sounded pretty exasperated. “I don’t know, Alex. This whole thing is probably stupid. There are trucks that come by with red cabs and white trailers, but nothing that has pictures of produce on the side. But then again, Ghaniyah didn’t even sound very sure about the produce part.”