‘Welcome to Gaza!’ he greeted in a slightly clipped tone. ‘I trust your journey was reasonably comfortable.’ He scanned my face closely as I shielded my eyes from the bright sun.
‘There’s an awful lot of desert around here,’ I commented surveying the area.
‘The Gaza Strip is one hundred-and-forty-six square miles, mostly sandy and flat,’ he informed me. ‘Gaza itself has long been an important centre of the Islamic tradition. It declined during the Crusades and never regained its former importance. Saladin defeated the Crusaders here at the Battle of Hattin in 1187 and the city reverted to Muslim control, passing to the Ottoman Turks in the sixteenth century.’ He walked back to the jeep. ‘Come… I’ll drive you to our base!’
The Commander was a mine of information. I climbed into the back seat of the jeep slowly as my limbs were still feeling stiff and sore. Penny followed suit. However instead of driving towards the sea where the city lay, Yasood headed inland into the wide-open desert. After travelling over the barren terrain for ten minutes, we came to an enormous rock and, to my surprise, he stopped the vehicle. Following the events which had occurred during the past twenty-four hours, I began to entertain foolish fantasies and horrid visions of being pressed against a wall to face death by a one-man firing squad, but fate did not have that in store for me. Yasood produced a small remote control unit from his pocket, aimed it at the rock, and pressed one of the buttons on it. There was a smooth humming sound as a large door in the rock face slid open. He drove the vehicle inside and started to laugh when he saw the stunned expression on my face.
‘Don’t be concerned,’ he chuckled amiably. ‘This is a very remote area. No one comes out here. You know you can lean against the rock outside and not even realise there was an entrance. We employ some excellent craftsmen. The door is specifically designed to fit the contours of the rock.’
He stopped the jeep, turned, and pressed another button on the remote control to close the door behind us before driving into the underground car park in which there were about twenty vehicles. He motioned to us to alight and we walked along a corridor where our footsteps echoed on the flagstone floor. There were fluorescent lights fitted to the ceiling which helped to guide us on our way.
Yasoon could see that I was inquisitive and provided further information on his own accord. He seemed to be delighted to offer details about the headquarters. ‘All its light and power is obtained from solar panels placed strategically. It’s very efficient in this part of the world where we have so much sunshine.’
We continued walking on a little further before arriving at a set of double doors. He opened them and we found ourselves looking into a large auditorium. On one side there was a dais backed by an enormous blackboard as well as a large screen for displaying films from an overhead projector. The rest of the room was filled with seats, all of which were occupied by people I had never seen or met before. It was noticeable that the atmosphere was air-conditioned, smelling fresh and clean. I was fascinated and impressed that a cause comprising so few people had drilled into a rock in the desert to establish a conference base for itself. At the same time, as a businessman, I was aware of the gigantic cost of such an operation. No doubt there had been a large cave at the base of the rock and someone had the vision to encourage the development. I was certain that the auditorium was only part of the complex which probably included offices, lounges, a very large dining room, a sizable kitchen, many bedrooms, a gymnasium, and various other facilities. I wondered how they managed to get water to the place before realising that they had probably drilled a well.
The Commander pointed to two vacant seats indicating where we should sit and then moved towards the rostrum. He stood on the dais in front of a lectern, pausing for effect, and then introduced himself. As soon as he began to speak, his tone, his attitude, and his body language led me to believe that his vocation had once been a teacher or a lecturer.
‘The reason you’ve been brought here may already be known to you;; the rest will soon discover the reason why. And there will be counselling for some of you,’ he began, ‘however, I’m sure you’ll all be interested in our briefing today. Thereafter, you may discuss the matter among yourselves, enjoy the refreshments, and stay for the night, or leave to fulfil the arrangements you may have already made. We’re fortunate to have over one hundred bedrooms here so please consider this place as a hotel. Not as the Hilton, of course, but as a hotel. Fine! We start off with the words ‘Petroleum… Oil!’ A commodity essential to the running of both the Eastern and the Western world, not only for use in vehicles for travels and the transport of goods but also in factories to keep machinery producing merchandise. And who controls a large proportion of the oil extracted from the ground? OPEC… the Oil Petroleum Exporting Countries comprised mainly of Kuwait, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. This is not surprising when you learn thaT the Middle East has sixty per cent of the world’s oil reserves. Over the past thirty years, the oil moguls have accumulated enormous wealth by exporting oil but they have made little use of the revenues. They’ve built some townships, made many roads, provided certain facilities for their people and eliminated taxes, but at the end of the day they have sat back and enjoyed the income, dependant solely on oil production, rather than to establish factories or manufacture goods to compete in world markets. Oil is their sole economy. Everything would be fine if this planet had unlimited stocks of it but those reserves will eventually become exhausted. At that time, the members of OPEC will wring their hands and wail misfortune. When will this happen? Almost certainly towards the third quarter of the twenty-first century. But what will they do when the oil runs out? I think that’s fairly obvious. They don’t have the ability or commitment to compete in world markets against the superior manufacturing production of Japan, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan or China. In any case, those with the funds will be very reluctant to stump up investment or train the vast number of workers required to produce the necessary skills. Joint ventures with other countries would accelerate development plans but their past record of attitudes with regard to negotiation has been appalling. Their view of foreigners is almost xenophobic. Western countries have learned their lesson. They will not be duped again. So where does that leave OPEC in the year 2050 when oil peters out in the Middle East. The rich sheiks will disappear to other countries taking their fortunes with them. The region becomes impoverished within a few months and the people will seek help from elsewhere which may not be forthcoming. There will be chaos, famine and disease, looting and murder. Crime will escalate to insurmountable proportions. Is it any surprise that they will take action in the only way they know? The Holy War! The Jihad! The unification of Islam in the Middle East as a new empire or world power within the next hundred years where those left behind from the debacle will seek to establish themselves in any way they can. Islam is the youngest of the world’s major religions. It is also one of the largest and fast-growing and is dominant in the Middle East and Africa. Currently it has over one-and-a-half billions followers. Yes, my friends. Over one-and-a-half billion! Today, large areas of India are Muslim and it is estimated there are over fifty million Chinese. After the death of the Prophet Mohammed in 632 a.d. there were Arab conquests in Egypt, Persia and the Levant. At that time, a dispute arose between two of the leading families in Mecca… the Hashemites and the Umaiyids. They argues who should succeed to the leadership of the Moslem community. The Hashemites were the Prophet’s own family and they claimed the succession should go to a relative of Mohammed. The Umaiyids claimed in accordance with the tradition of the Arabs… the Sunna… that it should go to the most suited person to be the Caliph. The Umaiyids, established in Damascus, won the argument in the end. The Hashemites continued to press their claim, gaining the support of those in the God-fearing and puritan Arab armies who resented the extravagance and nepotism characterising Umaiyid rule. They became known as the Shias from the term Shia Ali, the Party of Ali. In terms of percentages, the Sunnis comprise some eighty-five per cent of all Muslims… the Shias about fifteen per cent. To date, Islam is predominant in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, parts of Israel, North Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, parts of India, the Soviet Union, the Eastern part of Turkey, Albania, and even China while over two million pilgrims go to Mecca each year. Are there any questions?’