Chapter XXVIII
At last the priest came back in, carrying a brass tray on which stood a cup of milk, a plate full of dates and several pieces of bread. He placed the tray on the table before me and smiled.
"Eat, eat. There is nothing here which a Muslim cannot eat."
"You are kind," I bowed to him. "I am sorry that the blindness of your sheikh has given a Muslim into your house instead of your brother Frank."
The man looked startled. "Our sheikh is blind, but he is not foolish. He knows that I would prefer a Muslim to a Frank."
It was my turn to be surprised. "But the Franks are Christians!" I protested. "Surely you would prefer a Christian to a Muslim?"
The priest raised his eyebrows. "What do you know about the Christian religion, Fuad?"
"I had speech with a holy man in Bethlehem," I replied. "It was he who told me to call him 'brother' and so I thought that all Christian holy men were called this. He explained to me about your God and how you think that three is also one. He took a piece of glass and held it in the sunlight, showing me that there are many colours in white light. In the same way, he said, there is more than one God in God."
"Good," the priest nodded. "So you understand about the Trinity."
"You flatter me," I said. "I may understand. I do not believe."
The priest waved his hand dismissively. "No matter. To understand is sufficient; belief may come later. I am a Greek, not a Latin. The difference between us is very simple, but perhaps not so easy to explain. Let me try by using the words of a wise man who said that God is like a fire; first you have the flame, then you have the light and also the heat. God the Father - whom you call 'Allah' - is the flame. Jesus the Son of Mary is the light and the Holy Spirit is the heat."
"God is a fire?" I asked, puzzled.
"No," the priest shook his head. "This is simply a parable to perhaps help us understand something about God, for God Himself is too great for us human beings to understand. The point is that clearly the flame comes before the light and the heat and is the cause of them, yet it is impossible to have a flame which does not give light and heat. Also, although the flame comes before the light and the heat - for it is the flame which causes them - yet who can measure the time between the flame appearing and the light and the heat also appearing? In the same way, God the Father is the cause of Jesus and came before Jesus, but you cannot have the one without the other; you cannot have light without flame, you cannot have Jesus without the Father."
I nodded slowly. "I think I understand."
"Good, good." The priest smiled at me. "Now the heat also comes from the flame and is caused by it, do you agree?"
"Yes, I can see that."
"Good. In the same way, God the Holy Spirit - the heat - comes from God the Father - just as Jesus did. Now these heterodox Latins believe the same as us this far, but then they add one more thing. They claim that the Holy Spirit comes from both the Father and the Son, whereas we believe that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father only."
"Wallah!" I exclaimed. "Truly, God alone is great. For such a small thing there is enmity between the Latins and the Greeks? But surely it is written in your holy books what one should believe?"
The priest shook his head again. "Alas, my son, our holy book, the Bible, is not as clear on such matters as we might wish. It is the wise men of the Christians who have established these things."
"And are there no wise men among the Latins and Franks?" I demanded.
"Clearly not," the priest grinned. "Rather, they have a pope who thinks that he can overturn with a word the teachings of bishops and the decisions of councils. But enough of such matters; please, eat, eat."
I ate, for in truth I was hungry enough, and when I had finished I wished for Allah to bless the man, for he was my host and indeed the dates were good. He picked up the tray and carried it from the room, then returned and beckoned to me.
"If it will not offend you to enter a Christian church, come and I will show you something."
I rose from the chair and followed him out of his house and across the courtyard to the door of the church. The building was not nearly as large as the one in Bethlehem, but there were the same sort of pictures on the walls and hanging from the pillars. What surprised me most, however, was the fact that the building smelled like the perfume that men waft into their beards at the end of a feast. I stood for a moment, breathing deeply of the fragrant incense.
"Ya Fuad, come down here. Do not be afraid," the priest called from the front of the building.
"I am not afraid, O Papa," I told him. "I was enjoying the smell."
"Ah, the incense," the priest nodded. "Yesterday was the feast day of our saint, so we used much incense." He pointed to the ground. "Now, see this? What do you think it is?"
I stared at the floor, which was made entirely of small stones of many colours, arranged to make shapes and pictures. I recognised a fish in a stripe of blue, which I guessed must represent water; there were also many other shapes which I could not understand and others which looked like the writing of the unbelievers.
"What is it?" I asked.
"This is a map," the priest announced. "It is a picture of this whole country. See, here is al-Quds - Jerusalem - and here is Bethlehem."
I looked carefully where he was pointing. Small black outlines on the floor did indeed look like houses grouped together, and the larger ones could perhaps seem to be walled cities. When I looked for some of the larger buildings in Jerusalem, however, they were not there.
"But this does not look like al-Quds, Papa," I told the priest.
"Perhaps not," he replied. "There are two reasons; first, it is possible that the man who made this picture did not really know what Jerusalem looked like. The second reason is, perhaps, more likely: this was made nearly four hundred years ago and I have no doubt that in such a long time Jerusalem has changed. Some buildings have fallen down or been destroyed, others have been built to take their places."
I nodded to show that I understood. "What are all these?" I asked, pointing to the other shapes on the floor that stood for cities.
"These are all the cities that were in existence when this map was made," the priest answered. "From where do you come?"
"I am a bedu, O priest," I said. "We do not live in any city, but our encampment is between al-Quds and Jericho."
"Then here is Jerusalem," the priest pointed, "and here is Jericho. See, here is the Salt Sea which was on your right as you came down towards Jericho."
His finger traced a line between the two cities and it was even as he said; the blue area of the sea was indeed on the right. I stared in amazement, for truly this was an art of which I had no knowledge! How could one draw a picture of a whole country?
"I think your tents must be somewhere around here."
The priest's finger circled an area on the floor about half-way between al-Quds and Jericho.
"Allahu akbar!" I exclaimed. "Truly, this is a wonder! I must show it to my friends." I caught the priest's eye and hastily amended my words. "One is a Muslim like myself and perhaps of your kindness you will permit the Frank to enter your church?"
The priest spread his hands. "He is welcome, my son. Perhaps he may learn wisdom and true religion by coming in here, for this may be the will of God. As for your other friend, there is no need for him to come; he has seen this already."
"Already?"
The priest must have seen the surprise in my face. "Yes, he comes this way often, sometimes with one or two others, but more often on his own. I think - though of course it is not wise to ask - that he is a messenger for the Sultan."
"And you do not seek to hinder him?" I asked.
"No, why should we?" the priest responded. "We are only a small village; it is not for us to decide who will rule over us. If the Franks are victorious, then we pay our taxes to them. If the Sultan is victorious, we pay our taxes to him. For us there is no difference."
"Of your kindness, O Papa, do not mention this to the Frank."
It was the priest's turn to look surprised. "Why not, Fuad? Surely you and he are travelling together?"
"We are in service together," I replied. "Nonetheless, although I will never betray Sid Guy, my lord, I am a Muslim and my heart is with the Sultan. With Charles, however, it is a different matter and it is right that it should be so. He is a Frank, is he not?"
After this the priest showed me many other places on the floor, how the River Jordan begins far to the north and flows through a lake called Galilee; he showed me the city called Nazareth, where the Prophet Isa lived as a child; he also showed me the way by which we must go down to Aqaba.
"It is not shown on this map - because the map is very old and these things are very new - but there are castles of the Franks at Kerak, Montreal and the Valley of Moses. No doubt if you go so far you will stay in those places on your journey - though I do not know what your Arab friend will do. Perhaps he will not wish to pass through the cities of his enemies."
"Mashallah," I said, "We shall see."
Harun was already in the village square with the horses when the priest and I came out. They greeted one another as friends.
"Salaam aleikum, ya Papa," Harun said, smiling broadly.
"Ahlan wa sahlan, Harun," the priest replied. "Have you sped well?"
"Al-hamdu-lillah," Harun responded. "All is well. And you are well?"
"I give thanks to God," the priest said. "I have been showing Fuad the map."
Harun grinned and stroked his beard. "And has he told you, Fuad, what conclusion you should draw from this?"
I stared at him, not knowing what to say, but I heard the priest laugh.
"No, I did not go so far," the priest said.
"Then allow me to instruct my brother," Harun chuckled. "You and I are of Islam, Fuad, and we detest all idolators. Any picture or statue should be detested by a True Believer - yet here is a picture which is most useful to Believers and Unbelievers alike."
"So what is the conclusion?" I asked.
"Not all pictures are bad," Harun told me. "Mind you, I have not yet found the courage to expound this teaching before the Ulemma in as-Shams, so perhaps you should not preach it from the pulpit just yet."
