The sheikh’s enthusiasm now reached its climax, and he shouted, “Gihad! Gihad! Gihad! Children of Abu Bakr and Umar, Khalid, and Saad! The hopes of Islam today are pinned on you as once they were on your mighty forefathers! Struggle then for God’s cause and divorce yourselves once and for all from this world as did the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him! God looks to you to implement His covenant with you, so stand firm and retreat not, lest you be among those who lose all! Millions of Muslims humiliated and subjected to dishonor by the Zionist occupation appeal to you to restore for them their ruined self-respect. Youth of Islam, the Zionists get drunk and commit fornication with whores in the forecourt of your el Aqsa Mosque! What then will you do?”
The students’ excitement intensified and one of their number arose from the front row, turned toward the congregation, and shouted in a voice breaking with excess of emotion, “Islamic! Islamic! Not socialist and not democratic!” and the cry was taken up by hundreds of throats behind him and all the students started chanting the paean to gihad with one powerful, thunderous voice while joyful ululations rang out from the area reserved for the female students. The voice of Sheikh Shakir rose again, his excitement mounting to a new peak, “By God, I see that this place is pure and blessed, the angels surrounding it! By God, I see that the Islamic state lies in your hands and that it has been reborn mighty and proud! Our time-serving, traitorous rulers, servants of the Crusader West, will meet their just fates at your pure hands, cleansed for prayer, if God so wills!”
Then the prayer commenced and with the hundreds of students congregated behind him he recited in a sweet, affecting voice from the chapter of the House of Imran,
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate…
who said of their brothers (and they themselves held back),
“Had they obeyed us, they would not have been slain,”
Say: “Then avert death from yourselves, if you speak truly.”
Count not those who were slain in God’s way as dead,
but rather living with their Lord, by Him provided,
rejoicing in the bounty that God has given them,
and joyful in those who remain behind and have not joined them,
because no fear shall be upon them, neither shall they sorrow,
joyful in blessing and in bounty from God,
and that God leaves not to waste the wage of the believers.
And who answered God and the Messenger
after the wound had smitten them — to all those of them
who did good and feared God, shall be a mighty wage;
those to whom the people said,
“The people have gathered against you, therefore fear them”;
but it increased them in faith, and they said,
“God is sufficient for us; an excellent Guardian is he.”
So they returned with blessing and bounty from God, untouched by evil;
they followed the good pleasure of God; and God is of bounty abounding.
God has spoken truly.
Following the prayer, the students pushed forward to shake the sheikh’s hand. Then they spread themselves out over the courtyard of the mosque in groups of four, introducing themselves to one another, chanting from and helping one another with their study of the Qur’an. Behind the pulpit Sheikh Shakir made his way through a small, low door to his office, which was filled to capacity with students who wanted to meet with him for various reasons. Those present pushed forward toward him and embraced him and some of them made to kiss his hand, which, however, he would pull firmly away. He sat and listened with interest to each student’s issue, then a whispered conversation would take place between them after which the student would leave.
By the end, only a few students were left in the room, among them Khalid Abd el Rahim and Taha el Shazli. The students who remained were those who were particularly close to the sheikh, and at a signal from the latter, one of them rose and bolted the door. The conversation was opened by a huge student with a long beard, who said to the sheikh in a loud, excited voice, “Master, I’m not looking for a quarrel with the security forces. They are the ones who attacked us. They seized our colleagues from their homes and put them in detention even though they’d done nothing. All I’m asking for is some kind of protest. A sit-in or a demonstration for the release of our brothers in detention.”
Khalid whispered to Taha, pointing to the huge student, “Brother Tahir, the Emir of the Gamaa for the whole of the University of Cairo. He’s a final-year medical student.”
The sheikh listened to the young man, thought for a little, and said quietly, a smile never leaving his lips, “There’s nothing to be gained by provoking the security forces against us at this time. The regime has got itself involved in the coalition with the Americans and the Zionists in the name of liberating Kuwait. In a few days an unjust, infidel war will commence in which Egyptian Muslims will kill their Iraqi brothers under America’s leadership. When this happens, the people will turn against the government in Egypt, with the Islamic movement at their head, God willing. I think you understand now, my boy. National Security is goading us in the hope that we’ll respond and provide them with a pretext to direct a comprehensive blow at the Islamists. Didn’t you notice how in today’s sermon I contented myself with a general discourse and didn’t mention the coming war openly? If I’d attacked Egypt’s membership in the coalition, they would close the mosque tomorrow, while I need the mosque to rally the young people when the war starts. No, my boy, it wouldn’t be wise to put ourselves at their mercy now. Leave them be until they kill our Muslim brothers in Iraq and you’ll see what we shall do on that day, God willing.”
“Who says that they’ll leave us alone until the war starts? What makes you so sure? Today they detained dozens of cadres of the Islamic movement and tomorrow they’ll detain the rest, if we don’t resist them,” replied the young man vehemently.
Silence reigned and the atmosphere grew tense. The sheikh shot the young man a reproving look and said in the same calm voice, “I pray God that one day you may rid yourself of this excitable nature of yours, my boy. The strong Muslim is he who controls himself when angry, as the Beloved Prophet — God’s blessings and peace upon him — has taught us. I know that it is your love for your brethren and your zeal in defense of religion that drive you to this anger, and I assure you, my boy, and I swear to you by Him who is Sublime and All-Powerful, that we shall strike this infidel regime in battle, but at the right time, God willing.”
The sheikh fell silent for a moment, then looked at the young man for a while and added in a tone that brooked no reply, “This is my last word. I will do my best, God willing, to bring about the release of those detained; we have friends, praise God, everywhere. But I will not agree to a sit-in or demonstration at this stage.”
The young man hung his head, giving the impression that he had conceded only grudgingly, and it was not long before he asked permission to leave. He shook hands with those present, and when he came to the sheikh, he bent over him and kissed his brow twice, as though to erase any trace of the tiff. The sheikh responded with a kindly smile and patted him on the shoulder affectionately. After this, the students departed one after another until only Taha and Khalid were left. Khalid approached the sheikh and said, “Master. This is Brother Taha el Shazli, my colleague at the Faculty of Economics that I told you about.”