Granada (34 page)

"We must proceed with torture!"

The two assistants nodded their heads in agreement. Alonso beamed in delight at the prospect of what was to befall a woman gone astray from her faith. Miguel Aguilar sat quietly resigned to the fact that these habitual proceedings were intended to extract the truth from proud and obstinate sinners whose vices transformed Lucifer from one of God's noble angels into a wicked demon.

On the day of sentencing, they escorted Saleema in fetters to Bibarambla Gate Square. The guards made a path through the throngs of people who came to hear the sentencing and witness the execution. Saleema tried as best she could to withstand the agony of walking on two feet swollen and burned by torture. She tried not to think about the chafing of her hands shackled and tied behind her back. She still had the blisters from the red hot iron bar she had been forced to carry. She didn't dare look at the people around her. She occupied her mind with her thoughts. They were going to sentence her to death, so why didn't her insides roil with dreaded fear, or why didn't she cry out in anger and fury? She wondered if it was because she wished for death, that she was imploring God to relieve her of the unbearable suffering of her body and soul. She wondered if she was submitting her fate to God, like many of the great martyrs who face death bravely even though they may not understand or accept God's will. Perhaps it was something altogether different, that she decided without any forethought not to humiliate herself by screaming or begging, or even crying out in fright like mice in their traps. She would not add insult to injury onto herself. Intelligence in human beings is a noble quality. Pride in themselves is sublime.
She could now walk to the burning stake like a person who masters her own soul. She could say, "Yes, I am Saleema bint Jaafar. I was raised by an honorable man who made books and whose heart fumed the day he witnessed the burning of the books and who walked away in silent dignity. But I did cry out, Grandfather, when they tortured me, that is correct. My mind and my body collapsed, but only for several moments, Grandfather. I never said anything you would be ashamed of. I studied the books as you taught me to do, I eased people's pain as best I could. I even dreamed that one day I would dedicate to you, Grandfather, a book I wrote from my own research and experiments. That was my dream, Grandfather, that I could have realized had it not been for the prison of time."

Saleema finally looked around her. The crowd had grown eerily quiet. The three inquisitors were seated on a dais as the judge read out the sentence in a loud voice that echoed throughout the square.

"It has been our intention to ascertain whether the charges filed against you are true or false, whether you acted in light or darkness, and we summoned you to investigate these charges. We required that you swear by God in our presence. We sought the testimony of witnesses, and we abided by the rules and regulations in accordance with the Church. In the desire to attain the highest level of justice in this inquiry, a tribunal was formed, comprised of the foremost experts on theological matters. And upon a complete examination and discussion on all aspects of the case, and a careful review of all the evidence brought forth, we have arrived at a verdict that you, the so-named Gloria Alvarez, known prior to your conversion as Saleema bint Jaafar, accused of heresy, stand guilty as charged for being an instrument and a servant of Satan, for stealing seeds for his use, and for concocting diabolic brews that cause harm to both man and beast.

"In spite of your denial of these charges, it has been proven by the testimony of eyewitnesses that you caused the death of one child in the womb of his mother, and of another who was ill before you killed him.

"Furthermore, it has been determined that you have turned
away from the very church that embraced you and wanted to save your soul. It has become evidently clear that, regardless of your baptism, you remain steadfast in your Muhammadan faith and loyal to the Muslim prophet.

"In spite of all these charges, we have tried and continue to try to bring you back to the truth, to urge you to repent for your infidelity and your loyalty to the devil who is the very essence of nonbelief. We had hoped to return you to the embrace of Holy Mother Church and the Catholic faith, so that you may escape from the punishment of both this world and the next. We have tried our utmost in all of this, and we postponed pronouncing a sentence for as long as we could in the fervent hope that you declare your regret and sorrow. But your arrogance and stubbornness, and your predilection for sin keep you in a state of denial. We therefore report with great sadness and pain our failure in bringing you to repentance.

"So that every person of sound mind and soul be warned, that every true believer shun the path of wicked infidelity, and that all people know that apostasy does not go unpunished, I, Judge Antonio Agapida, who sit before you with the Bible in hand, so solemnly declare in the name of the Holy Church, with God as my witness and the honor and majesty of our faith guiding me, my sentence as follows:

"As you sit before us in the Square of Bibarambla Gate, we declared you an unrepentant infidel, and condemn you to death by fire."

The crowd roared, and the shouts of the masses that pounded in Saleema s head like thunderous hammers mixed with the pounding of her heart and the throbbing in her stomach. She didn't want to look around her. She didn't want to look because she feared their eyes, Castilian eyes gleaming with delight and eager to watch, and Arab eyes that break your heart with their sorrowful or frightened looks. She doesn't look up, but she hears a voice that sounds like the voice of Saad. She keeps her eyes down. They unfasten some of her shackles and lead her toward the woodpile.

Maryama was worried sick over Saad and Hasan's delay, but she couldn't refuse Aysha's request to tell her a story.

"Once upon a time, Aysha, there was a big tree in the sky that had as many green leaves as the number of people there were on earth, people from all over the earth, small and big, girls and boys, those who spoke Arabic like us and those who didn't. It was a big tree that sheds its leaves and then grows new ones over and over again. Every year on the night of Laylat al-Qadr, the tree sprouts a strange and wondrous leaf. In the year this story takes place, the tree sprouted . . ."

Maryama stopped. She was at a loss at what to say. Her mind was wandering in many directions, and she was thinking about why Hasan and Saad were late. She wondered if Saleema was to be sentenced that day.

"And so, then what happened, Auntie Maryama?"

Maryama looked into the face of the little
girl and she took a long deep breath. She let it out and continued her story.

Glossary

Abu:
father [of]; honorific, followed by the name of the oldest son

auto-da-fé:
a ceremony conducted by the Office of Inquisition to pronounce judgment on and order the execution of a heretic

bin,
bint:
"son of," "daughter of"; term forming part of a person's name, following the first or given name

dinar:
a coin, usually of gold

faqeeh:
a
scholar and teacher of Quranic and Islamic studies

fatwa:
a
solicited legal opinion (response)

imam:
prayer leader in a mosque; spiritual head of a Muslim community

muezzin:
the announcer of prayer time

Ramadan:
the holy month when Muslims are obligated to fast from sunrise to sunset

Sidi:
an honorific equivalent to "Lord," "Master," or "Sir"

shahada:
the profession a faith incumbent upon all Muslims: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His prophet."

shaykh:
a title given to a respected elder or to a scholar of religious studies

souk:
a marketplace and center for commercial and social activity

sultan:
a title of power, equivalent to the title "prince"

Umm:
"mother [of]"; honorific, followed by the name of the oldest son

Vizier:
the head of governmen
t, usually under a ca
liph or prince