What I have tried to depict in my fictional work, is the social cum religious circumstances that has become the breeding ground of Muslim radicals in countries like Pakistan, who are fanning terrorisms world over through inter-connected stories of my saga of Basher, name of hero in Urdu that means in English a “human”. In brief the story is as follows:-
Clouded Crescent is a story of a chattering child of a commoner, who falls in the hands of malevolence mongers and terrorists in milieu of contemporary Pakistan, terror campaigners compel him first to become terror thinking Islamist after he escapes from a prison falsely accused by his landlord. Then the radicals sent him to Taliban training camp where due to his liberal views and dissenting acts, terror trainers put him before firing squad; a drug baron rescues him from the claws of death and uses him in drug and arms smuggling to India and Saudi Arabia.
Basher who has a character of more of heroics than acumen, befriends a Sikh gunrunner to Maoist rebels, then in a sort of religious school in the insurgency belt of India where he encounters a headmistress who keeps him as her gigolo. At the time of 9/11, Basher escapes from India through Nepal.
The Islamist cleric clout again draws him to terrorism after a devastating tragedy in his family and send him to Afghanistan with Al-Qaeda units to fight American forces there after 9/11. US troops capture him, send him to Bay prison in Cuba, returns from reformatory as a changed man and discovers Al-Qaeda digging for doom stealthily, to steal atom bombs to be smuggled to United States for an Armageddon…
My fictional account describes the emergence of fundamentalist Islamists radicalism in Pakistan, menace it is creating towards spread of international terrorism leading to atomic holocausts/ Armageddon , coming from evil forces in milieu of contemporary Pakistan through a narrative of its hero Basher an ordinary man,how he find himselves in the clutches of Al-Qaeda,Taliban & drug smugglers and how he redeems himself.
Excerpt
Basher alias Sheriff and Zaki Al-Yemeni carried on two donkeys before the crowd at camp, half-naked and smeared with black paint to thoroughly berate them in the eyes of all the Taliban. Donkeys were making rounds before the crowd who were ridiculing them with words as well as spiteful gestures, spitting on them in sheer hatred for their sins, and calling them devil incarnate. Some one from the crowd then threw stones on them and donkeys went berserk, throwing the condemned sinners on the ground. The Taliban deputies then asked for order from his followers to avoid killing the two by trampling in the melee, and asked them to disperse and go to their assigned militant training jobs at the camp. A Taliban guard then lifted up the two condemned persons whose bodies had bad bruises from the tumble from the beasts of burden on a pebbly area. A deliberate act to chastise and censure them before all the trainees and other viewers of camp thus ended.
After their ordeal and knock from beasts, tribal elders also came to their rescue, they herded them into the pickup truck, and two defiant of Taliban terror forces, took off from that place in haste.
After traveling some distance and coming to senses, Basher
Inquired from the Yemeni,
“It was a near death to both of us, what do you think; who saved us?”
“Of course the Almighty Allah has saved us from those Terrorists and Tyrants.”
“The possibilities for such a war, contrary to what is being said, are very remote if not impossible. Everyone loses in such a war. Israel loses, Syria loses and the Arabs lose.
“War is out of fashion .. war is the easiest thing. It has a known goal and a limited platform. But if the peace process collapses, it is much worse than war. Let me stress that terrorism and violence are more dangerous and horrible than war.” Said President Hosni Mubarak of the Arab Republic of Egypt, a decade ago on The Hebron pullout.
Yes, President Mubarak had rightly said it: “…..terrorism and violence are more dangerous and horrible than war....”
Contemporary world is the victim of terrorism. Terrorists are not of any caste, creed, color or nationality. Their creed is terrorism. The world community has to find a way how to contain it. At first to find the reason that leading to terrorism. Then to find a remedy to reduce it and eliminate it. Terrorism can not be contained by counter-terrorism or state-sponsored law enforcement. It can only be contained by political dialogues and concessions.
Terrorism of different kind is always there in different countries. But, after September 11, when we hear about terrorism, our eyes are focused on one particular religion. All religions are for people’s peaceful co-existence and well being. Religions teach good morale, tolerance and brother-hood. Yet, some misguided people turn to destruction and loss of lives in the name of religion. Such an act on the part of them is caused for branding the whole religious believers in bad light.
Religious leaders had often clarified that religious teachings have no connection with those indulged in terrorist activities in the name of religions. But, those attempts were not sufficient to those who do not even glance through the teachings of other religions than their own.
Main steam media as well as prominent community leaders have a key role to play in the direction of teaching the world community that the religion – Islam – to which a large number of people point is not wrong, but some name-sake believers. Islam is the living religion. It teaches peace, tranquility and brotherhood. To eliminate the misunderstanding of Islam, Islamic believers have to come out.
It is in this respect, we have to view Mr. Mohammed Rasheed Rambler’s novel “Clouded Crescent – Garrulous Goon.” He dedicated his novel to terrorism haters. To peace lovers.
As the author himself says in the preface of his fictional work, “Clouded Crescent is a story of a chattering child of a commoner, who falls in the hands of malevolence mongers and terrorists in milieu of contemporary Pakistan, terror campaigners compel him first to become terror thinking Islamist after he escapes from a prison falsely accused by his landlord. Then the radicals sent him to Taliban training camp where due to his liberal views and dissenting acts, terror trainers put him before firing squad; a drug baron rescues him from the claws of death and uses him in drug and arms smuggling to India and Saudi Arabia.
Basher who has a character of more of heroics than acumen, befriends a Sikh gunrunner to Maoist rebels, then in a sort of religious school in the insurgency belt of India where he encounters a headmistress who keeps him as her gigolo. At the time of 9/11, Basher escapes from India through Nepal.”
The author Rambler is a retired man of 63 years and embarked on writing fiction as hobby after his superannuation from his job. An Engineer by profession but inspired by his father who was a short story writer and his brother was a Ph.D. in English Literature and Professor of English, who made him to read occidental literature and cherish reading and writing in English language and that past encouragement is responsible for his fictional work appear to public.
Throughout the novel, he used bold, tough and harsh word to criticize terrorism. He is deeply pained in the foolish act of some misguided religious brethrens’. He did not spare them through out his novel.
Instances of terrorist acts the world over were carefully studied and boldly presented in the novel. A large number of casualties of terrorist acts are the same religious people of which those terrorists belong, the novelist clearly says in the preface of the novel.
I am helpless to quote many of his words, sentences and phrases, due to the circumstances’ compulsion. Famous Benjamin Franklin had rightly said: “Those who wish to live in peace, should not comment on all what they see…….” Of course, this world is neither for stooges nor for cowards. It is for brave and courageous people. Novelist M.R. Rambler has taken a courageous step. I salute him. Let it be an added inspiration for him to come out with more and more such novels.
One of Reviewers, Mr. Abdi-Noor Mohammed, rightly reviewed: “Sounds great. Would like to read it during the Summer, Insha Allah. Seems you have picked a hot topic and gave it a splendid title: “Clouded Crescent: Garrulous Goon.” You grab the attention of the reader and welcome him/her with much ease and fervor…”
Yes, Mr. Rambler has picked a hot topic. The title itself is arresting. Every peace lover, this novel “Clouded Crescent – Garrulous Goon” a self published book by the novelist M.R. Rambler and available at Amazon, BookSense, Froogle and Barnes & Noble.com.
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Sounds great. Would like to read it during the summer, Insha Allah. Seems you have picked a hot topic and gave it a splendid tite:
Clouded Crescent: Garrulous Goon.? You grab the attention of the reader and welcome him/her with much ease and fervor. The design is marvelous, too. Well done dear brother M.R Rambler
When I wrote ths book in 2000, I was concerned about children having access to the Internet and to chat rooms where "you can be anyone you want." Here we are many years later and the situation with children talking freely to stangers on the Internet
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