When he met Fatima at the university library on Sunday she was wearing jeans and a closed top that could not hide the outline of her breasts that seemed to have a life of their own moving with every movement she made. Her face was the kind that came to mind when it was said that a face could launch a thousand ships, as attributed to Helen of Troy. With a small smile Fatima told Ossi that he could close his mouth and stop dribbling and asked him to sit down across the table from her. She asked him if he had tried to study the facts about Islam's history and when he brought up his confusion and reservations she sighed silently and told him that they would need to cover a lot of ground. Ossi couldn't have been more pleased to hear the promise of many more meetings with this lovely young woman.
They spent the next two hours with Fatima doing most of the speaking and Ossi drifting into daydreams every so often. At two o'clock Fatima said she was famished and the two of them headed for the cafeteria and found that it was closed on Sunday. So they found a nearby quiet restaurant that was open and ordered a light lunch consisting of sandwiches. Ossi refrained from ordering beer and asked for a fish sandwich out of respect for Fatima's religion, forgoing his favorite meal of a ham sandwich washed down with a couple of beers. Fatima noticed this and smiled her appreciation which set Ossi's pulse racing. After finishing their meager lunch they returned to the library and continued the tutoring for another couple of hours. Fatima apologetically explained that as an unmarried faithful Muslim woman she could not meet in private with a man who was not a member of her immediate family but as she lived in Sweden she was permitted to meet with him in public places even without a chaperon. Much to Ossi's delight they agreed to continue the lessons at the library twice a week for two hours each time.
After approximately ten lessons Ossi was convinced of two things: the treatment of Islam and Muslims by the US and its Western allies was unjust and that he was infatuated with Fatima and would do anything to win her heart. Fatima told him that the old man, her uncle, wished to see him again and Ossi gladly consented to meet him just before the Friday prayers. This time he made his way to the community center on his own and when he knocked on the side door it was opened by the robed and veiled Fatima. Without a word she offered him her hand and led him down to the basement giving him a small pat on the back as he opened the door and entered the carpeted hall. The old man welcomed him with a smile and asked him how his studies were going. Ossi answered that he now understood the injustices inflicted on the Muslims and said he would be ready for an advanced course on Islam if it were given by Fatima. The old man frowned and said that Fatima could continue with the history lessons but religious teachings were not for women, so he would personally become his tutor. Ossi was a bit disappointed but grasped at the opportunity to continue seeing Fatima agreed.
The more time Ossi spent with Fatima the closer their relationship became. In no uncertain terms she indicated that she would be willing to fully give herself to him if he converted to Islam and married her in a religious ceremony. The lessons with the old man were more centered on politics than concerned with religion and Ossi gradually became convinced that he should contribute to the cause of Islam — the big prize being, of course, Fatima. So, after another three months of religious teachings on the one hand and growing fascination with unattainable Fatima, Ossi was willing to forego his atheist beliefs and convert to Islam.
On a beautiful spring day the old man performed the official ceremony of accepting Ossi into the folds of Islam and immediately after that the betrothal to Fatima was performed. According to the teachings of Islam no alcohol was served or consumed at the wedding.
The young couple took off for their long awaited honeymoon in Ossi's old Volvo. They left the outskirts of Uppsala and crossed the intersection leading to the A4 highway on their way to Gavle where they intended to spend their honeymoon. Suddenly a motorcycle travelling at a great speed entered the intersection and hit their car on the right side crushing the door on the passenger's side, severely injuring Fatima. The Volvo spun around and Ossi was thrown against his unlocked door that flew open and he was tossed out and his head hit the paved road knocking him unconscious. After a few moments Ossi recovered from the shock and ran back to the Volvo only to see that Fatima was being carried to an ambulance by two paramedics. Ossi managed to get on the ambulance but was told by the paramedic that Fatima was not breathing and without a pulse because her rib cage was crushed and probably punctured her lungs and heart. At the Uppsala University Hospital, Akademiska Sjukhuset, Fatima was announced as dead-on-arrival. The funeral was arranged for the next day and was attended solely by Fatima's friends and family as Ossi had gradually severed all contacts with his own family and few friends.
The local newspaper covered the fatal accident in detail and released the fact that the alcohol content in the motorcyclist's blood exceeded the limit of 0.02 % by a factor of five and that he lay unconscious in the intense care unit of the same hospital.
The old man told Ossi that according to tradition it was his duty to avenge Fatima's death or he would not be counted a man by his Muslim friends He used the term "murder under the influence of the Satan's alcohol. Without hesitation Ossi said that his true love would be avenged. He found a hospital staff uniform, donned it and walked into the hospital room where the unconscious motorcyclist lay. Without hesitation he simply placed a pillow over the patients face, pressed down until he was sure that the man was dead, took off the uniform and nonchalantly walked out of the room and the hospital and returned to the community center.
The old man, knowing that Ossi would be the obvious suspect of foul play, told Ossi that he had made arrangements for him to clandestinely board a ship that was to leave Stockholm the same evening heading to Beirut in Lebanon. The old man gave Ossi an envelope containing $5,000, a false passport with the name Olaf Gunther Andersson and a letter of introduction to be presented to the captain once the ship entered the Mediterranean Sea.
Ossi disembarked at night, wearing traditional Arab cloths that covered his blond hair and his Scandinavian features. He followed the captain's instructions and entered a small, noisy café a few blocks away from the Beirut harbor and asked for Abu Yusef, the proprietor. Abu Yusef had been warned that a Swedish man called Ollie (short for Olaf Gunther Andersson) would be arriving and arrangements were made to take him across Lebanon to the Baqa'a Valley where a Hizbollah training camp operated.
Ollie was one of the many new recruits that were sent to the training camp that was run by Hizbollah, the Lebanese so-called Party of Allah that was a political party with a military arm, or as some people regarded it, a Shi'ite militia with a political party. The instructors at the basic training camp were a motley collection of professional army officers, mainly from Iran, self-proclaimed experts, mainly from Syria and Lebanon, and some psychopaths with battle experience from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as several others from all over the Muslim world.
The trainees were even more varied as they included volunteers from various countries in Europe, North and South America and even Australia. Some of these were simply adventurers who were just looking for action, but most believed that Islam was the only true religion and were willing to persuade everyone else of that conviction, by whatever means required.