Jamal turned to me and began to laugh. "That historic development makes Mecca, Median, and Baghdad the cradle of the USA and the cradle for our future. Did you know that? Without the Renaissance there would have been no USA, and without that, we might not have enough of a foundation to built ourselves up to meet the Ice Age requirements when much our agriculture will have to be carried on in protected and enriched indoor environments on a scale that no one can yet imagine."

      "I hope you realize now what a huge potential we have as human beings," said Mohja to Astrid, "and how the world can change once we begin to develop that potential. We are spiritual beings on a journey through a material world. We are endowed with the power to transform this world and to uplift it. That makes us unique. That gives the dynamics of human life a unique quality. The animal world doesn't have that unique power. Many animal species become wiped out in the Ice Age for the lack of protection, unless we protect them with our life-preserving technologies. You weren't aware of any of that, were you?"

      Astrid shook her head.

      "Baghdad really was the scientific center of the world prior to the Renaissance in Europe," said Mohja, looking at me. "Baghdad still is the intellectual center for the Muslim world. Whoever is seeking a scientific education in the Muslim world will go to Baghdad. That's only natural, because Science is our link to Allah, and Baghdad is the historic center of both. It is our link to universal Principle reflected in the human being and the universe. Unfortunately a lot of the old tradition has become lost. Even hijab is fast disappearing, while its principle remains valid on a higher level."

      "Are you sure that its principle remains valid?" I said to Mohja. "Has its principle not been overlaid with a religious type of imperialism? For many a woman Islam has become a trap. It begins with hijab that encourages a woman's self-isolation. It then prepares her for the still deeper isolation that follows in marriage, which is mandatory in Islam, where it then becomes her mandated role to perform the function of a sex-slave and household servant. Her husband's happiness becomes her personal responsibility under the Islamic marriage doctrine. What I see happening here is miles distant from the ideal that you said Mohammed had represented when he said in essence that I, meaning Islam, trample on everything that divides human beings from one-another."

      "Look at your Christian world," said Jamal quietly in answering for Mohja. "You find the same regressing process happening in Christianity."

      "That doesn't excuse anything," I replied in the same quiet tone. "Islam presents itself as the scientific extension of Christianity. It should set its stage on higher ground. If Allah represents the acknowledgement of the profound universal principles of our humanity, which we truly stand in awe before, then hijab has to symbolize the freedom, dignity, and universal worth of the human being, rather than symbolizing a dead end trap."

      Jamal hugged Mohja as if to protect her from a sudden attack.

      "I have raised the question of hijab," said Astrid, "because my friend from America appears to seek some sort of sexual contact with me. I see hijab as a warning to me, not to go down this road, but to be happy just by being in love with myself."

      Jamal answered with a faint smile. "Be careful with that! You may be heading in the wrong direction. Mohja and I regard hijab as a spiritual platform. We respect hijab for that. We aim to uplift it onto a higher platform whereby the moral principles that society finds difficult to deal with, become raised up to ever-greater conformity with what is real about our humanity. The Islamic Renaissance has been a renaissance of scientific progress. Right now, true scientific and spiritual progress is regarded the enemy of mankind. Every empire in history has been at war with mankind's love for scientific and spiritual progress. Islam has been especially targeted in that war. It has been given a harsh imperialistic and unyielding fundamentalist face. Mohja and I, and a small circle of friends are trying to restore the scientific renaissance-potential of Islam. This means restoring hijab onto a platform of a beautiful spiritual principle by which it represents the opposite of self-isolation."

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Stories about  Healing from novels by Rolf A. F. Witzsche