by Frank Gelli*
My ‘The Muslim Detective’ book presents Superintendent Ahmad, an investigator who is guided by his faith in the Qur’an to fight a murderous Artificial Intelligence entity and its criminal network. Also, there is an esoteric clue to the role played by Imam al-Mahdi.
Western crime fiction is remarkable for excluding any reference to the sacred. There have been many stories whose protagonists – public and private detectives alike – steer clear of transcendence. From Sherlock Holmes to Hercule Poirot, from Inspector Morse to Jessica Fletcher, from Adam Dalglish to John Rebus - they are very different personalities but they all have one thing in common: their methods are purely earthly. Spirituality plays no role in how they confront and solve criminal cases. I consider that approach perversely limited. A reflection of a dogmatic secularist mentality. That is why I decided to fashion my detective, Superintended Ahmad, whose inspiration and methodology are rooted in divine revelations, in a clear alternative to that.
The Netflix drama series, ‘Bodies’, purports to show Muslim detective Shahara Hasan but she is a Muslim only in the cultural sense. The sacred Book of Islam, the Qur’an, does not guide her in her investigations.
My ‘The Muslim Detective’, available on Amazon, is a fast-moving crime mystery. Ahmad, its protagonist, investigates a baffling series of four murders. First, that of Imam Ali Suleyman, who mysteriously vanishes after giving the Adhan call to prayer, followed by two further murders, those of the priest Father Isaac Pierleoni and that of Rabbi Mordechai Mortera. The body of Shabana Bibi, the wife of the Imam, is discovered in a synagogue. Was it revenge?
All along the narrative, Ahmad is helped by his very bright young daughter, Fatima. How does culprit Aron Bronstein operate? Who controls him? What part does Artificial Intelligence play in the solution? Hoe does the Sufi Yusuf aid Ahmad? And where in the narrative is the hidden clue to the presence and assistance of Imam al-Mahdi? Or the enigmatic figure of Khidr? Above all, how does the Qur’an assist Ahmad in solving the mystery?
The back cover of the book
My hope is that ‘The Muslim Detective’ will not only fascinate and entertain its readers but that it will also stimulate knowledge and meditation on the meaning of the holy text and its practical applications in a hitherto unexplored area.
KEY WORDS
Crime fiction; Serial murders; Detectives; Artificial Intelligence; the Holy Qur’an; Mystery; Sacred Knowledge; Sufism; Imam al-Mahdi.
*Author, The Priest of Church of England
