Free A Prayer for the Devil by Dale Allan

before marriage. These were archaic by twenty-first-century standards but not unexpected, considering the traditions of this part of the world.
    The hidden side of Sharia, however, was unthinkable by Western standards. Luke had read horrifying depictions of amputations, beatings, stonings, and honor killings, yet these draconian acts were seldom discussed. The Egyptian government recently had outlawed female circumcision, only after a twelve-year-old girl had died from an anesthesia overdose while having this nine-dollar procedure to remove her clitoris. Government statistics documented that over 50 percent of girls aged ten to eighteen had been circumcised; UNICEF’s research showed the actual numbers to be much higher.
    When word of widespread honor killings was published in the European and American press, the Egyptian government’s official response was, “Egypt has no honor killings.” Yet, not by coincidence, the number of young women “reportedly” committing suicide was increasing at an alarming rate.
    Stories of daughters being decapitated for having a boyfriend, or being beaten and electrocuted because they received a phone call from a boy, were common in this part of the world. One story Luke heard about from a fellow priest made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. The priest told of a young mentally handicapped girl who was buried alive in the ground up to her neck and stoned by her father and others because she became pregnant. After they dug her up and realized that she wasn’t dead, they reburied her and threw rocks at her head until she died. What most people didn’t know was that her own father was the one who was responsible for impregnating her. Incest was another growing atrocity that many pretended didn’t exist.
    Northern Africa, including Egypt, continued to have problems with religious tolerance. The Christian Coptic community, which comprised approximately 10 percent of the population, was being persecuted by Muslim extremists. If a young Muslim man saw a Christian girl that he wanted to take as one of his four wives, she would often be kidnapped, tortured, drugged, and raped until she submitted and became a Muslim, never seeing her family again. All of this was happening while government officials looked the other way. Recent bombings of Christian houses and churches had caused an outcry by Pope Benedict, who denounced the violence while stressing religious acceptance.
    Jami returned, apologizing for the interruption. Wanting to follow up on her previous statement, Luke said, “You were saying that there are vast differences between northern and southern Africa, but as you know, they’re not only religious.”
    She smiled politely and changed the subject. They talked about general topics for the next half hour. As Luke stood and prepared to leave, he said, “Before I go, can I just ask you one question? Do you have any idea who did the bombing? And do you think your sister was a specific target or just an innocent bystander?”
    Flustered, Jami just shook her head. Disappointed that she didn’t want to speculate or offer any information, and losing his nerve to press her further, he thanked her for taking time to meet with him.
    Then she asked unexpectedly, “Can you come back and visit me again?”
    Luke was surprised but said, “Certainly.” After exchanging cell numbers, Luke asked, “What does the name Jamilah mean?”
    She smiled and then quickly looked down. “It means beautiful.”
    He waited for her to look up, then he smiled and said, “I should have known.”

     

 
    WHILE SITTING IN HIS parked car, Luke decided to call Jim Hathaway, his brother’s financial adviser, to follow up on the settlement of Aaron’s life insurance policies. Jim had done as much as he could on his own, but now he needed to meet with the family to finalize the paperwork and money transfers.
    “When’s the earliest we can meet?” Luke asked, anxious to put the financial side of