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Issue 14

(Brother Khaled tells his story to one of the brothers in

the group.)

My name is Khaled Abdullah Al-Khaly; or it may be some

other name. You see, I really do not know for sure. Let me

relate to you something of my past so that you might be

able to understand me better. I have an inscription on my

chest that I have had since I was very young.

I remember noticing the inscription on my chest in a mirror

when I was about fiv years old. The inscription is in Arabic

and gives a name -- (Khaled Abdullah Al Khaly) the name

of a great desert, or the name of a city (Rubh Al-Khaly), a

year (1960), and the crescent and star of Islam.

I do not know or remember when the inscription was

tattooed on my chest.

For some reason I was taken from the Middle East to Mexico

at an early age and given a Spanish name. I do not know

who my parents are so I cannot ask them these questions.

This mystery is the reason why I am in search of the truth

before I die.

I will relate to you some old memories that exist inside

my head. These are memories of my youth. I have never

forgotten these reoccurring images of my past and they

have become the oldest memories that I have of my life.

I am about 4 years old. I am in the desert. I can see many

men dressed in black. There are so many that I cannot

count them. They are mounted on horses, their faces are

covered, and they are carrying swords. It is night and I can

hear people screaming in agony, in pain, and in fright. I

can also hear men talking but I cannot understand what

they say.

There is fir everywhere. I see people hiding, running, and

defending themselves from the men and the fire

I am suddenly grabbed by the arm and taken away. It

seems that I cannot move fast enough because my feet

are sinking into the sand. I cannot make out the face of

the person who is leading me but I am taken to a group of

men standing away from the fire

The men are strong and tall but I can only see their backs.

I remember turning around and seeing the large streaks

of fire burning the town and hearing the voices of terror

in the distance. I was then mounted and taken away on

a white horse. I do not know if the person with me was

a man or a woman. I turned around and could see many

people on horses following us.

Soon, I see hills. Yes, I remember seeing hills. I then re-

member being inside of a basket with many small openings.

From these openings I could see people moving about. I

was in the basket for a very long time and I could feel the

pressure of being held captive because I could not force

myself out. Every once in a while someone would open

the lid of the basket and hand me some bread.

I have another memory. Someone is holding me in their

arms. At first I could not see the face but then she removes

the head covering and I see tears. She is crying for me with

much tenderness in her heart. I will never forget those eyes.

Those eyes have been recorded permanently in my mind.

Sometimes I wonder if those were the eyes of my mother.

I remember that there were many people around us as she

was holding me. Suddenly, she gave me to one of the men.

I remember fighting and screaming because I felt attached

to this woman. I did not want to leave her arms.

Later, I remember seeing a large cargo ship. I could smell

the sea water and I could see men carrying sacks of clothes

and baskets on their heads. I then notice a man that looks

different from the rest of the people. He is wearing white

clothes and a white hat. The man is tall and looks English.

He looks at me and smiles.

I am now on the ship. I know that I am on a ship because

the food, the candles, and the people sitting next to me

seem to be rocking. I am on this ship for a very long time.

I can not see the sun so I do not know if it is day or night.

In a few days or weeks we arrive in a city, but because of

my youth I do not know what city it is. I came to know

later on that the city was somewhere in Mexico. In Mexico,

for some reason, I was given to an old man named Faruk.

I only remember his name and something interesting that

he told me. He told me that he was a descendent of the

pharaohs.

I lived with Faruk for a short time. Faruk died a few months

later. Before his death he told me to remember that their

was only one God to honor and that God was Allah. Those

are the only words I remember Faruk telling me.

There were two other children living with us. I think that

they might have been my brother and sister but I am not

certain. We were all about the same age.

When Faruk died we were separated and to this day I do

not know what ever happened to them. I was then taken

in by a Mexican family.

I remember living with this Mexican family for some time.

I knew that they were not my real family because I could

sense that the love a mother and father have for their child

was missing in their kindness towards me. I lived with two

other families. All the families were Catholic.

One of the families had two children and they took good

care of me. I was taken everywhere with them. By this time

the memories of my past were slowly fading. I was being

acculturated in Mexican society and taken to church on

a regular basis.

However, I never felt comfortable in church and was never

forced to participate. I believe that it was through the great

power of Allah that my heart was being kept from church

until I discovered the gift of Islam.

This gift came in the form of Islamic images of Muslims

praying on television. It was from these brothers on tele-

vision that I learned how to pray. You see, there are not

many Muslims in Mexico and I never understood the ado-

ration of the saints or the virgin of Guadalupe. I felt more

comfortable copying the Muslims on television than the

Catholics in church.

For years I tried to figure out what the inscription on my

chest signified but no one around me knew how to read

Arabic. One day, I finally met a man who could read Arabic.

This man deciphered the tattoo and gave me some hope of

finally figuring out my past. The information was significan

and made me contemplate life for a very long time.

Soon, I made up my mind to leave Mexico.

Approximately ten years ago I decided to take destiny into

my own hands. I stowed away on a ship heading towards

the Middle East so that I could find some answers to my

past. However, the ship stopped in Peru for ten days. I

could not withstand the hunger for that long of time so I

jumped off.

I have been in Peru ever since. I am poor so I do not have

any plans to go to the Middle East in the near future.

Throughout my life, however, I have had two recurring

dreams that I feel are important and symbolize something

of my past. In one dream, I am high atop a mountain feel-

ing a cold breeze blow as I look out onto the land below.

My curiosity grows from atop the mountain and I begin to

descend. I begin to see thousands of people but I cannot

make-out their faces because they are covered.

They have long clothing that covers their bodies. I try des-

perately to see their faces but I cannot. I begin to advance

through the thousands of people. With every step, they

spread themselves open to let me through.

When I reach the center, I see their leader or someone I

believe is the leader. The person is in agony and dying.

This person has a sock that is weathered by time. On his

skin I see injuries of some sort.

I think in my heart, “the poor man must be suffering”, then

another man holds me by the arm and tells me that I have

to put the sock on.

Fear fills my being as I think that maybe the sickness the

man is suffering will one day strike me because I am wear-

ing his socks. I think of Allah and believe that Allah will

keep me away from harm’s way.

The men then take me and slip the dying man’s socks on

my feet. When the socks are fitt d on me the men take me

and raise me above their heads to place me on a pyre of

fire so as to test my strength. I am brought down and the

thousands of people suddenly fall on their knees towards

me in adoration.

A man that is by my side says that with these socks I will

have great power and many children. The thousands of

people remain in reverence of me. This is a dream that

has reoccurred many times in my life. I am searching for

interpretations of my dream.

Another dream that reoccurs takes place as I am climbing

a mountain. When I reach the mountain top I see thirteen

white horses and horsemen. One of the men dismounts

and raises me towards him. The man then places a crown

on my head. I am delighted of this act but then the crown

is transformed into a thin simple crown that is placed in

front of three rocks or three diamonds. The rocks are in

the shape of pyramids and each pyramid is of three colors;

green, white, and violet.

I do not know what these dreams mean. I do believe,

however, that they are related to my vague past. I am sure

that there is someone out there in this present world that

might have an answer to my past life.

I am a man searching for his family, a homeland, and an-

swers of my past. If anyone has the slightest knowledge of

what I have said please let your heart guide you towards

me. And may Allah, the all powerful, enlighten your de-

cision to help me.

MPORTANT

EMINDER

We at the Islamic Bulletin would like to assist our

brother Khaled in re-uniting him with his mother and

family. We urge every-one to share this information.

Should you have any questions or require further

information, please contact: Editor of The Islamic

Bulletin, P.O. Box 410186, San Francisco, CA

94141-0186.

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