The Night Will Have Its Say
The half century of roughly 680-730 CE was a perilous time across North Africa. Muslim armies out of Syria and Arabia crushed all opposition from Egypt to present-day Morocco and even north into Spain and Portugal. This retelling of that era combines history, philosophy, myth, and religion. Fifty-nine essay-length chapters contain deep conversations and introspections of Berber warrior queen al-Kahina as she plots to resist the invaders and save her people. Secondary characters such as advisors, poets, emissaries, and al-Kahina’s sons and military rivals also express their views and feelings. The topics covered are many. They range from the evil in men and the good nature of women, to parents and children, causes of war, the power of scriptures, the strengths and weaknesses of both rulers and slaves, the soul-comforting ties of a fixed homeland compared to the freedom of a wandering nomad, and the deeper significance of day and night.
Translated from the original Arabic, this award-winning author’s prose fits the time and stories—variously poetic, harsh, complex and difficult to grasp. Patient western readers will be rewarded with insights into the rise of Islam and some lesser-known but important leaders. Many of the essay topics remain as relevant today as they were then. This work will not appeal to those looking for a conventional story arc, details of war preparations and battles, or troves of historical information. But most readers will find triggers here that cause one to examine, at least for a while, eternal questions about who we are and where we fit in the larger tides of life.
