Note: This essay originally appeared in Mystery Readers Journal, Vol. 20, no. 1, Spring 2004

Islam - Not Always by the Book

Charles Benoit

   Whenever I hear someone say that the U.S. is a religious nation I remember the most common graffiti I saw throughout the Middle East. Allah Akbar . God is Great. The U.S. may indeed be a religious country, but you wouldn't know it from its graffiti.

   Given the events of recent years, it's easy to see all Muslims as religious fanatics. I lived in Kuwait for four years and traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, and while I didn't meet everyone, most of the Muslims I met didn't fit the stereotype. I was, however, surprised by the intensity of their faith. Nothing - I mean nothing - gets done without first clearing it with God. Insha'allah was one of the first Arabic phrases I learned since it was the answer to most every question. Can you pick me up? Insha'allah. Will your shop be open later? Insha'allah. Will the sun come up tomorrow? Insha'allah - if God wills it. It sounds nice but it can be rather unsettling when you ask your doctor if you'll recover or ask the ship's captain if the boat will float and the best they can do is Insha'allah.

   In my novel, Relative Danger , the naïve Doug Pearce from Pottsville, PA finds himself traveling the world to solve a fifty-year old murder. Doug, like many people, isn't comfortable discussing his religious views, mostly because, again like many, he's never given them much thought. To him, religion is a thing your parents dragged you to every Sunday, and God looks a lot like Santa, only not as much fun. When he finds himself sharing a jail cell with Abe Abdulrazzaq and a dozen other Muslims, he's surprised by Abe's view of religion:

   "We're Muslims," he said, pointing around the room, "those who submit. But really everything is Muslim, everything submits to the will of God. Muslims just do it willingly."

    Doug pulled the flat bread apart into small pieces, trying to stretch out his noon meal. He was uncomfortable with the topic. "I don't think about religion much."

   "Me either," Abe said.

   "What are you talking about? You're up there praying every few hours. And with all your " salama lakums " and your " Al Hamdu Allahs ", you're thinking about religion all the time."

   "I'm not thinking about religion, I'm thinking about God."

    Abe believes that all religions are screwed up, but adds:

   ".we all still submit to God's will, even you my little atheist friend."

   "I never said I was an atheist, but since you don't see me up there," Doug said pointing to the last group of men finishing up their prayers, "how can you say I submit?"

   "I see you sitting here, next to me, in this jail cell. Like it or not, this is where God wants you."

   "I wish God'd get me the hell outta here."

   " Insha' Allah . If God wills it, it'll happen."

    To many of the Muslims I met, Islam is not a religion with a system of beliefs and rules. Rather, they saw it as a way of making life easy. You could accept God's will or fight against it, but either way, God wins. To get along you've got to learn to go along.

    Now this fatalistic, laissez-faire attitude may not mesh with the way Islam is viewed - or practiced - by the rest of the world, but for many of the people I met it made sense, and I wanted to get their reality into my novel.

    I wrote most of Relative Danger in Kuwait. Don't be surprised, I would tell my Muslim friends, that if someday you pick up my book and see the things you've said about religion coming out of the mouth of one of my characters. They'd just smile and say Insha'allah my friend, Insha'allah.