During the final Witr...

During the final Witr, he had just raised his palms for Qunoot, when most unexpectedly Abu Mahmood appeared at the infamous window. "Shunu Salat Hazeh" what sort of prayer is this? There was nobody there to answer, for Muhammad Ali was steadfast in his supplications, and those half awake like myself pretended to be in deep sleep.

Abu Mahmood stood riveted to the ground till Tahajjud was over and with a contemptuous grin said: "You would not be here if God ever heard!" My interrogation continued on the same note. "Do you speak Arabic or Persian?" "Do you read Quran?" "Yes". "How can you read Quran if you did not know Arabic?" "This is common in the non-Arab Muslim world. We are taught to recognize the Alphabets, and trained in recitation without understanding the language", I explained.

"Why did you visit Iraq?" "For Ziyarat of Arba’een." "And who sent you here?" "Nobody. I came of my own accord, and at my own expense. "You are lying. You must know that we are kind and considerate to those who are truthful. And when you start telling the lies, we treat you like animals-worse than that. Do you understand?" "Yes, but I am telling no lies." The interrogator left his seat and came closer to where I sat.

This menacing approach sent a chilling sensation down my spine, but nothing happened. He asked: "Are you Ayatollah?" I was taken aback. Was I? This seemed to be quite far-fetched, and I could not guess why they thought I was Ayatollah. I had no beard-it had been perforce shaved in the cell. And then I remembered. In my briefcase, they had found an Amaliyya of Ayatollah El-Khui, and some of his letters and receipts for Khums . "No, I am not Ayatollah", I said.

"What are your relations with El-Khui?" "He is my Mujtahid. I follow his rulings in Islamic jurisprudence and regulations". "And with Khomeini?" "No relations with Khomeini". "Do you believe he is a crazy Mulla, responsible for the slaughter of thousands of innocent Muslims?" I hesitated. This was a tragic pause. The Muhaqqiq hit me on my jaws with his fist and I was on the floor as the chair tilted.” You are Khomeini's spy-and with that label I was sent back to the cell. Previous…