They went their separate ways. Chan told him not to hesitate to get in touch.
An acquaintance from the mosque in Sandvika approached Sadiq and praised his daughters’ actions.
“Such a gift they have given you!” he said. “Their sacrifice paves the way to paradise for your whole family.”
Sadiq exploded. “Send your sons, then! Send them!”
The other man changed the subject, but Sadiq would not relent. “Until you send your own children to Syria, keep your opinions to yourself!”
Snow started falling. A white blanket soon rested on the Kolsås ridge. The year was nearing an end, and Sadiq went into hibernation.
22
A KIND, WONDERFUL MAN
“Ismael, no we did not. The whole thing was a misunderstanding. How are you and the rest of the family? We don’t have much time so answer quickly!!!”
Two weeks had passed since Ismael had asked Ayan if she and Leila had sent someone to kill their father.
Finally she was online! Ismael sent another question. “ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED?!!!! In Syria?”
Ayan replied right away. “I am married ☺. Go on Skype! Where are you?”
“I’m at school. Don’t know whether to feel happy or let down.”
“The problem is everyone knows about our situation.”
“What do you mean??”
“We didn’t send anyone to kill Dad. He said he was cooperating with PST and the police on the news. The whole world knows. Espionage against Muslims is a very serious matter so the court here brought him in for a hearing. They asked him a lot of questions and tried to find out if he was a spy or not. It had nothing to do with us, we didn’t send anyone. He was then acquitted and let go. No one was out to kill him. It’s just like when the police in Norway take you in because they’re investigating a case. It doesn’t mean that they’re trying to lock you up or kill you. They thought he was a spy because of all the messages between him and the police.”
“He said he was beaten, but anyway I don’t care about that. I’m more worried about you.”
“Did he tell you that Leila was shot because of him?”
“Yes, in the foot?”
“Because he said we had been kidnapped, which was a lie. In the leg. Where was he beaten?”
“In the cell.”
“Where on his body? With what?”
“On his stomach, with rifle butts, why can’t you just go to Somalia?”
“We could but we don’t want to go to a country where Islam isn’t practiced properly and where sharia doesn’t exist. BTW you should be happy I got married, he’s a good man.”
“I knew this would happen.”
“What?”
“That you’d both get married down there.”
“Haha, listen, we had nothing to do with what happened to Dad. Because of him my husband’s car is wrecked, our clothes are destroyed and Leila was shot, so it’s only natural the authorities here wanted to look into the matter.”
“To be honest, I’d be more than happy to go to Syria myself and die for something I don’t believe in if it meant you coming home.”
“I’m sorry it’s so hard for you. How’s school going?”
“Not good.”
“Why not?”
“I’m so distracted. Can’t sleep. I want you home.”
“Concentrate, Ismael, we’re fine here! We live in a nice big house with a nice big garden. And I’ve learned how to drive. And you mustn’t believe that I or my husband want to kill Dad.”
“Who is your husband? Where did you meet him?”
“Through friends.”
“How could you get married, just like that?”
“He’s a good man, that’s why I married him.”
“Do Mom&Dad think it’s okay?”
“No, unfortunately not.”
“Is he on Facebook? Is he from Syria?”
“No. From BÆRUM”
“Has he been married before?”
“No. He’s here, do you want to talk to him?”
“What’s his name?”
“Do you want to talk to him?”
“Did he go to Rabita Mosque? What’s his ethnic background?”
“Do you want to talk to him?”
“Just ask him, I’m in class, can’t talk.”
“Hisham is from Eritrea, and he didn’t go to Rabita.”
“Hisham…?”
“Yep.”
“Surname?”
“Hisham Abdiqadir. Is Mom unwell? How are things with her?”
“Both her wrists are injured, nothing else.”
“Have you any more questions about my husband?”
“Why the … are you in Syria and not Eritrea?”
“Because the jihad in Eritrea is finished hahaha.”
“Or Somalia?”
“I didn’t come here to get married.”
“Yes you did.”
“Wallahi I did not.”
“I think you know the truth yourself … it’s pretty obvious.”
“Believe what you want, the truth is I came here to be in the country of jihad.”
“Is your husband going to go out and wage jihad then? Eh?”
“He came long before I did.”
“Yes/no?”
“We’re both engaged in jihad and he goes out to fight sometimes. It’s very quiet where we’re living but we can hear the fighting in the distance.”
“So you’re pregnant … and he’s off waging jihad part time. Sounds nice.”
“I’m not pregnant.”
“Imagine something happens to him, what then?”
“Then I’ll wait until I can get married again.”
“You’ll just marry the next mujahid? That sounds disgusting.”
“Don’t people get married, divorced, and married again in Norway? Don’t think of it as disgusting, Ismael, we’re trying to live a normal life here.”
“They’re going to die and you’re going to satisfy the next one after this first one is dead.”
“I came here to die myself. Not to be anyone’s whore. Don’t insult me by calling me that!!”
“That’s how it is, if you’re not directly involved in the fighting yourself. If you live in a peaceful area. By the way, how is Leila?”
“Good, her wound is healing, it wasn’t that serious.”
In the end Ayan summed up what she wanted to say in a series of numbered points: “1. We did not send anyone to kill Dad!
