The Imam was excited when he received answers back from an old friend in Riyadh. He learnt all about Kamal’s family and their untold wealth. It was decided that Kamal would be subject to special guidance.
One morning, at the conclusion of organized worship, Hillali approached the young man. "Kamal, how are your studies progressing?"
"Teacher, I am applying myself diligently to my work" said Kamal truthfully with a bowed head "I study every hour that I can. My grades are all excellent."
"Wonderful, I am pleased to hear this. Allah needs smart young men to further our cause" began Imam Hillali.
"I have an overseas visitor staying with me for a few days, please come and share tea with us." A request from the Imam was an order not to be refused.
As they sat cross legged in the Imam’s residence, a surprisingly tall man with bright blue eyes, a bushy beard and white scull cap joined them. He was a little older them Kamal.
"This is my friend The Sheikh" said the Imam as he made the introductions.
"Sheikh, this is one of my young students, Kamal."
Kamal took the lead from the Imam and used a similar address.
"I am honored to meet you Sheikh. What brings you to Boston?" asked Kamal.
"I have business interests all around the world. My aim is simply to further the cause of Islam. I can be quite forceful in the way I do this."
Imam Hillali took this as his queue to leave to attend to other matters.
Over the next three hours, Kamal was fascinated with the stories told by The Sheikh, of life in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Sudan. He had no idea Islam was under such attack from the West.
Kamal had belonged to a relatively benign sect of Islam, but the Sheikh began to explain to him the teachings and beliefs of the other sects. Kamal had no idea that Islam could be interpreted in so many different ways. The Sheikh explained the subtle and not so subtle differences in beliefs between Sunni, Wahhabi and Qutbism.
Kamal walked home to the Brotherhood that evening excited and full of enthusiasm. It felt wonderful to belong to Allah’s chosen people. He knew he had choices to make in his own life and decided to learn more from the Sheikh.
In fact Kamal went back to the Mosque every day during the Sheik’s U.S. visit. The pair had lots in common. Kamal learned that the Sheikh also had a background in engineering, having obtained a degree in civil engineering in 1979.
In the second week of his visits, as Kamal was rising to depart, The Sheikh asked him a simple question "Think about your answer carefully before you answer. What would you be prepared to do for Allah?"
Kamal could not sleep that night pondering this simple question. How could he simply ignore the Jihad and let people like The Sheikh shoulder all the responsibility?
The Sheikh finally announced one day, "Kamal, I will be leaving the United States tomorrow. I hope we can continue to be friends."
Kamal had tears well up in his eyes. In the short period of two weeks, The Sheikh had become more of an older brother to Kamal.
Kamal’s father Razak never understood Kamal. But, Kamal believed that he and The Sheikh were soul mates.
"How can I help the cause?" Kamal asked on his last visit.
"I will be in touch" said a satisfied Osama bin Laden with a nod and a wink.
Chapter 7
The M.I.T. sailing dock was located overlooking the Charles River in Cambridge. It is one of the most beautiful places in picturesque Boston. It could be an unwelcome place in the middle of winter, but at this time of the year it was a wonderful place to be.
The M.I.T. sailing club had many members, and one in particular was the reason that Kamal had come down here today for his first practical sailing lesson.
Geraldine Flynn was a lovely looking girl with flowing red hair and freckles. She was in a couple of the same classes as Kamal, but seemed never to notice him when Kamal tried to make contact. Kamal did some clandestine research on Geraldine, and found out that her passion was sailing. He decided that was how he would win her heart. To him there was no question that he would have this woman. He had no doubt that he could win her over. It was just a matter of planning and time.
Kamal had taken a couple of books from the library and now knew the physics involved in propelling a small craft through the water. He was surprised to learn that sailing boats could sail almost into the wind by pulling the sails tight. Doing this created lower pressure on the front of the sails, causing the craft to be pulled forward almost like an aircraft wing.
Now it was time for him to learn the practical side.
He was very disappointed when he returned to the dock three hours later after his lesson. It seemed to him that the volunteer instructor was more interested in a nice afternoon on the river rather than to impart any real knowledge to his student.
Kamal decided that this was not the best way for him to learn. Later that day, he took a walk around Boston Harbor and found a commercial sailing school not far away.
"How long will it take me to learn to sail" Kamal asked the ex-America’s Cup crewman who now ran the sailing academy.
"That depends on how much you have to spend and how often you can come down here" was the honest answer from the weathered sailor.
"Then I am sure it will not take very long" said Kamal smugly.
His lithe physique was ideally suited to the sport of sailing, and he loved his time on the water.
Kamal was extremely proficient after two weeks of almost constant lessons and he received a certificate of comGregncy.
Inscribed on the certificate was a quote that Kamal always remembered:
We cannot control the wind, but we can trim our sails.
His instructor was impressed with Kamal and asked him "Do you want me to find you a crew position on a racing boat?"
"No thanks, I want to sail on smaller boats. Thank you for your tuition. You are an excellent teacher."
The next weekend he turned up at the M.I.T. dock with his certificate and hired one of the one man single skiffs. It was much easier to sail than the larger boat he had learned on, but Kamal found that the wind had a much greater effect on the little boat’s performance.
During the week he did some research on the prevailing weather conditions. He also studied some theoretical texts on sail shape. The mathematics was surprisingly complex.
The next weekend he entered a race. He did well at his first attempt finishing in the top half dozen. His heart throb Geraldine was also racing. Kamal pretended not to notice Geraldine on the water, and was easily able to beat her home around the final buoy.
As he was unrigging the little craft, Geraldine noticed Kamal. She came over to him and finally spoke to him "Hello, aren’t we in some classes together?"
Playing it nonchalant Kamal countered with "I think maybe we are. My name is Kamal Pashwari."
"Hi, I am Geraldine Flynn. You are a pretty good sailor."
"I used to sail on our family yacht at home" said Kamal in an outright lie. But then lies had always come easily to the young Saudi.
Geraldine was still dripping wet. "It’s freezing out here. Would you like to go grab a coffee?" asked Geraldine.
"Of course, I would love to" said Kamal truthfully this time.
Thus began the first and most memorable love affair of his life.
Sailing on the Charles River became a regular thing for them. They even sailed a boat together to win one of the inter university races.
Chapter 8