The Devil Is a Black Dog by Sandor Jaszberenyi Read Free Book Online Page B

in the prayer room, absorbed in the Hadith. The book he held in his hands was probably two hundred years old. Abdelkarim was wearing the same jellabiya I had seen him in yesterday.
    “Last night the beast attacked and killed a woman named Khulud, and two of her children are in the hospital,” he said. “One remaining child has yet to be found.”
    “Was it the black dog?”
    “That is what they are saying.”
    “Now what?”
    “I have to convince them once and for all that the dog must be killed.”
    The imam stayed buried in his book all day and didn’t even emerge from the prayer room for lunch. I didn’t want to bother him. Nor did I want to bring up the assembly that was planned for that evening.
    The men, superstitious and fearful, listened to Badr al-Din’s account of the hunt. The butcher, shaking a fist in the air, closed his speech by stating: “I am saying for certain that this dog is not of God. Safiy-Allah, his boy, and even the foreigner were witnesses.” Terrified shouts of “God is great!” filled the room. Abdelkarim sat palely next to me, stroking his beard. He stood, and then addressed the men.
    “My brothers. Listen to me, my brothers,” he said. “We need to put an end to this dog before it kills again.”
    A numb silence descended. I could hear the oil lamp sputter and the clatter of the rifles against the wall of the room.
    Khaldun stood up. “It’s not certain that the dog is not of God,” he said, looking over the attendees and then staring spitefully at Abdelkarim. “On the contrary. I think God sent this animal to call attention to the fact that we have strayed from the proper path. Those it killed, they were all guilty. Have you forgotten how many times you saw the boy intoxicated on khat leaves? How the husbandless Khulud was attacked, and her children as well?”
    Men around the room began to nod.
    “We have to put the question to ourselves: Why is God punishing us? The answer is here in front of us. It is because we have become lazy in our faith. Because God’s commandments aren’t fulfilled without err. Because we gamble, we don’t supervise our women’s morals, and we let foreigners into our homes. It is time to renew our submission to God, and examine the town’s morality. Only in this way can we fend off these blows.”
    Shouts of “God is great!” broke out among the attendees. Many of those gathered stole a glance at me. Others hugged Khaldun and thanked him for showing them the light.
    Abdelkarim sat wordlessly next to me, and when the tone had calmed, he stood.
    “Excuse me, Khaldun, are you suggesting we improve our morals in the way they do in Marjah? Beating our women with sticks if their faith slackens? Stoning the criminals?”
    “If this is the price of deflecting these blows from our heads, then yes,” shouted the old man from his place. The surrounding men nodded.
    “And if I guess correctly,” Abdelkarim said, “you would nominate yourself to head a council of morality? It is known that you have had some practice in these matters.”
    “I only hope the brothers are humble and pious enough to carry out the task,” said Khaldun.
    “Yes, yes!” shouted the room.
    Abdelkarim cleared his throat and continued. “Well, I believe you are mistaken, my respected Khaldun. We must kill the dog no matter what.”
    “Why need it be like this? Why is this how you want it?”
    Abdelkarim stepped up to the butcher, Badr al-Din. “What color was the dog?” he asked. “Tell us, brother, what color was the dog?”
    “Black,” answered Badr al-Din, confused. “Black as night.”
    Abdelkarim leaned over and took the Hadith in his hand, the one he had been reading all day. He opened it and turned to Khaldun.
    “We need to kill the dog, because the Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded it so. It says so in the Hadith: ‘Kill the black dog, because the black dog is the devil.’ ”
    He spoke calmly, and didn’t raise his voice for even a moment. Again,