Zuwayy's Minister of Arab Unity — looked positively horrified. "Pardon me, Mr. President," Secretary Hijazi said in a low but stern voice, "but my lord prefers to be addressed as 'His Royal Highness' or as 'King Idris the Second.' I am sure my office made the proper notifications to your office in a timely manner. And touching his highness without his permission is absolutely forbidden."
"Of course," Salaam replied. "Yes, I was so notified." He bowed to Zuwayy. "My apologies, Highness."
It was a joke, of course-everyone knew it. Jadallah Zuwayy claimed to be a descendant of the sheikhs of the al-Sanusi dynasty, the tribe of powerful desert nomads that united the three kingdoms of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan under Islam during the Turkish occupation and formed the kingdom of Libya. It was Muammar Qadhafi, after oil was discovered in Libya, who led a military coup that overthrew King Idris al-Sanusi in 1969 and formed a military dictatorship; the al-Sanusi sheikhs were driven underground by Qadhafi's death squads and formed the Sanusi Brotherhood, a monarchist insurgency group. Now Zuwayy claimed to avenge his family's honor by taking the country back from Qadhafi in the name of the Sanusi Brotherhood.
His claims were utterly baseless. Born and raised in Tripoli, the son of an oil executive and housewife, Zuwayy was an ex-army officer who had been serving in relative obscurity as an infantry-training officer, specializing in demolition, breeching, and minelaying. It was widely suspected, though never confirmed, that Zuwayy joined the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, an extension of the Mujahadeen-ultranationalist rebel groups spread out across the Middle East and Asia dedicated to the overthrow of existing governments and replacing them with fundamentalist Muslim religious governments. Much of his financial backing came from Mujahadeen organizations in Iran and Sudan collectively known as the Muslim Brotherhood, with whom Zuwayy had formed a close alliance.
He had no royal blood in him, and his family never was part of the al-Sanusi clan, a great nomadic tribe that fought Turks, Italians, and Germans to win freedom for their people. The remnants of the al-Sanusi dynasty were scattered across Africa and the Middle East, fearing the Libyan assassination squads that pursued them under orders from Colonel Qadhafi. Although Zuwayy claimed to restore the monarchy to the al-Sanusi dynasty, his reputation as a ruthless, fanatical sociopath only drove them deeper into hiding. No one in Africa or the Middle East dared challenge his reign. The Western press scoffed at his claims and repeatedly offered much evidence that he was not a Sanusi, but the evidence was largely ignored, especially within Libya itself.
President Salaam stifled a smirk at the aide's remarks about Zuwayy's grandiose title and motioned beside him. "Highness, may I present my wife, Susan Bailey Salaam. Madame, it is my pleasure to introduce His Highness, King Idris the Second, President of the United Islamic Kingdom of Libya."
Susan Salaam stepped forward, curtsied deeply, averted her eyes, and extended her right hand upward. "Welcome to Egypt, my lord. We are honored by your presence."
It was obvious that her husband thought this too much of a show, even for Zuwayy. He was surprised when Zuwayy offered her a very pleased smile, the first he had ever seen or depicted of him. Could this man, could any man, be so vain…? "Please rise, woman," Zuwayy said. "We are privileged to be here on this glorious occasion."
Susan rose-and Zuwayy looked into the most beautiful, most breathtaking, most alluring face he had ever seen. Her head was veiled, as it should be, but the sheen and luster of her deep black hair underneath could not be concealed. She wore no makeup that Zuwayy could detect, but her lips were deep red, her eyes dark and mesmerizing, her cheekbones high, her mouth perfectly formed. Her skin was perfect, light brown with slightly darker cheeks from exposure to sun, almost African. She took one look at the Libyan pretender, and even his rock-hard heart began to melt.
She was not African-Zuwayy knew she was an American, born to southern European emigrants-but this creature was the most beautiful he had ever seen on the planet. She could not be human-she had to be a goddess, or a gift from the loins of Allah himself. He also knew she was much more than just a thing of great beauty. She was once an American air force military officer, rising in the ranks from a lowly security police officer to deputy chief in charge of intelligence for the U.S. Central Command. During the War for the Liberation of Kuwait, what the rest of the world called the Persian Gulf War of 1991, she acted as an intelligence liaison to the Egyptian military, which is how she and Kamal met. Zuwayy had been told that she was a woman of many talents: She could pilot a jet airliner, drive a main battle tank, fire a rifle, and argue both common and Shari'a law in any courtroom in the world in four languages.
Susan Salaam quickly averted her eyes again, not daring-properly-to gaze into the eyes of another man, as was proper Islamic custom. Zuwayy had to force his own eyes from her, realizing-then not caring-that he had let them linger on her too long. She must be a gift from God, Zuwayy told himself again..
… a gift for a man blessed enough to have such high favor of Allah. And Salaam was not, could not, be that man. "It is a pleasure to meet you, my child," Zuwayy said finally, fighting to control his breathing. He did not use the more formal address for a married woman, ya sayyida, but instead the more intimate expression dahab.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Susan said, again letting those beautiful eyes flash up toward his. "May the blessings of the Prophet, praise his holy name, be upon you and all of us today."
"Insha'allah." He had to tear himself away from looking at her, so instead concentrated on her husband, looking Kamal Ismail Salaam up and down disapprovingly. Salaam was wearing a simple white and blue traditional headdress, but was otherwise dressed in a conservative gray doublebreasted Western-style business suit, with a single gold chain around his neck. "You do not appear to be prepared for prayer, brother."
"I have been asked to give a few remarks to our guests before the prayers of celebration begin, Highness alaam replied. "My duties require that I be elsewhere during the prayers of celebration." He motioned to his left. "The chancellor of Al-Azhar University and chief justice of the Arab Republic of Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council, Ulama Khalid al-Khan, will lead the prayer celebration in my place."
Khalid al-Khan bowed deeply to Zuwayy, then took the Libyan's extended hand and touched it tenderly to both cheeks. Al-Khan was in his late forties, a fundamentalist Sunni Muslim cleric who led the fight in 1980 as a firebrand-some said fanatic-to make the Shari'a, the Islamic legal code, the basis of Egyptian law; before that, the law had been a mishmash of English common law and even Napoleonic code, with a healthy dose of Turkish law thrown in to confuse everyone. The highest-ranking cleric in Egypt, al-Khan was an advocate of an even greater role of fundamentalist Islamic rule in Egypt and was very vocal in his opposition to both the Mubarak and Salaam governments. Al-Khan was dressed similarly to Zuwayy, with traditional Arab robes and turban.
"Majesty, it is an honor to meet you," al-Khan breathed. "May the blessings of the Prophet be upon you forever and always."
"And to you, my son," Zuwayy replied. He looked aghast at Salaam as if to say, "That is how you pay proper respect to your superior." "The Prophet of course allows the faithful to pray anywhere," Zuwayy said to Salaam, "but He always looks with extreme favor on those who join together with their brothers in prayer."
"My apologies, Highness," Salaam said.
"I see you prefer to wear the clothing of a mushrikun as well," Zuwayy added. "You have also shaved your beard, of which Allah almighty also disapproves. At least you still observe the adab al-imama" he added, motioning to Salaam's turban, "although it does not appear to be the proper length, as prescribed by His Holiness the Prophet. You shall be instructed as to-"