Free A Sultan in Palermo by Tariq Ali Page B

and defend him. Who knows, perhaps Siqilliya, with or without the Franks, will return to our faith.’
    Then Idrisi spoke. ‘There is a problem you have not taken into account. If they burn you, the charm will be broken and the beautiful illusion or hope—call it what you will—gone for ever. When our people see that Amir Philip, the most powerful man in the kingdom after the Sultan, can be burnt like a piece of wood and his ashes scattered in the sea, they will despair. They will think Allah has abandoned them. They will become embittered and desperate and in that state men can no longer think in a calm and rational way like you. Please do not underestimate the effects of your death.’
    Philip smiled. ‘Torture and death by fire is an abomination, but I think I will feel it more than you. I was sold into slavery and in that condition one is always prepared for death. It would worsen my misery if I thought you were all engaged in planning an action that was doomed to fail.’
    Then the qadi spoke. At seventy-six years of age, the hair on his head had disappeared some time ago, but his long white beard, clutched tight during key moments of his sermons, had a touch of wild grandeur. Idrisi had heard him in this same mosque for many years and knew all his rhetorical ploys. They reminded him of the weather. When he began to speak it was like a hot moist squall that suddenly blows away and the air becomes stagnant and motionless. Then, suddenly, without warning, a dark cloud appears, followed by a thunderclap, exhorting the faithful to action. Sometimes there were variations, but nothing significant. And Believers, to their credit, learnt to display a stoicism worthy of their earliest forebears, applauding the same words week after week as if they heard them for the first time.
    ‘Amir Philip,’ he said, ‘you are regarded as the wisest man on this island, wiser even than Master Idrisi. In the name of Allah I urge you to think again. Our Prophet, may he rest in peace, taught us to submit, but only to Allah. No earthly ruler can take his place. For you to submit to the crime being prepared in the palace is unacceptable and will damage our community. I would urge you to board a ship and disappear. How did our Prophet win those early battles? Because in those early clashes with the armies of the Ignorant, the Prophet’s soldiers were the only disciplined men of their day. It was not easy to elevate the mental state of the Ignorant to believe in one Allah, but finally we succeeded and they entered the stream of history. So Amir Philip, I plead with you to follow their example. There are many places where you will find refuge. Our Amirs in al-Andalus, threatened permanently by the Nazarenes, will reward your skills. And when stories of the battles you win, with Allah’s help, reach Siqilliya, we will rejoice and, who knows, it might even encourage our poets to speak less of wine and more of our victories.’
    In this vein the discussion continued for many hours, the young captains vigorously supporting the qadi ’s suggestion that Philip take several ships and retreat to a friendly city. They described how, in the past, they had found a number of safe havens and marked them on their maps, not revealing the locations, even to Master Idrisi.
    But they had all reckoned without the will and determination of Philip al-Mahdia. Once he had made a decision it was difficult to shake his resolve. With a simple gesture, he demanded and obtained total silence. Then he brought the mehfil to a close.
    ‘Don’t misunderstand me, friends, but I have thought about this very carefully. I have no desire to die, but none of your arguments has convinced me. How can my death have the effect you describe if so few are aware that I am a Believer? Most of our people think I am a Nazarene. They will not be affected by my departure. The qadi talks of the Prophet’s disciplined soldiers. That is what we need, but it is the Franks who displayed that