I Am Pilgrim

Murdoch explains that he will refer to his chief adversary in his greatest case by an alias, the Saracen. The character is referred to by this moniker throughout the work, a practice replicated in this guide. Murdoch explains to the reader: “It means ‘Arab’ or—in a much older use of the word—a Muslim who fought against the Christians. Go back even further and you find that it once meant a nomad. All of these things fitted him perfectly” (71). Murdoch explains that he became one of the world’s few experts on the man’s history and is thus comfortable describing his motives.

The Saracen, Zakaria al-Nassouri, grew up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to devout Muslim parents. His father was a zoologist specializing in marine life and a vocal critic of the corruption of the country’s ruling family. He was arrested for this political crime, tortured in prison, and, like many others convicted under the statute, sentenced to death.

The young boy rushes to see his father’s execution but arrives too late. When he asks the dead man’s profession and it matches his father’s, he finally cries out. Murdoch calls this “the primal scream of birth” marking the young man’s path to terrorism, for which Murdoch sardonically says, “Thank you, Saudi Arabia, thank you” (83).

The execution of the family patriarch wrought devastation on the entire family, and they ultimately emigrate to Bahrain. The young boy joins a radical anti-Western mosque. The family’s new source of stress is cultural: The two young girls become drawn to Western culture and dress that is more permissible in Bahrain, arguing with their conservative brother, and his mother tells him she must find employment.

The family drama comes to a head when, during an unexpected school vacation, the young boy sees his mother having lunch with male coworkers, with her face visible rather than veiled. He concocts a plan to enlist in the Soviet-Afghan war, telling his mother he is planning to study Islam in Pakistan. On the morning he departs, he writes a note to his mother explaining his true intentions and disillusionment with her.

The next chapter begins years later, as al-Nassouri has miraculously survived the war and watches the departure of Soviet troops. A notable war leader, Abdul Mohammed Khan, visits al-Nassouri and his remaining comrades to assist in their return home. Khan has a fearsome reputation, as he not only survived capture by the Soviets but also captured the men who betrayed him and buried them alive in concrete he preserves as a wall sculpture. Khan is eager to meet the young Saracen, who is legendary for his wartime accomplishments, and he suggests the young man study with the Taliban. Al-Nassouri demurs, citing his duty to avenge his father and return to Saudi Arabia. As a gesture of faith, Khan provides him with a perfectly forged Lebanese passport, educational credentials, and funds. He considers it “a gift from one warrior whose war had finished to another whose campaign had just begun” (103). Murdoch reflects that this gift makes his later investigation especially challenging.

In the next phase of his life, al-Nassouri moves to Beirut, Lebanon. He attends university and embraces political radicalism, with an emphasis on fundamentalist Islam. His life changes again when he meets a young Palestinian woman who says that freedom from despotism in the Middle East will only happen if one can find a way to destroy the global hegemony of the United States. Struck by her words, al-Nassouri decides that an attack on the United States is his new path to vengeance.