A Gun for a Song

The story of A Gun for a Song is fiction, but some events and characters are inspired by actual events in northwest Pakistan today. Take Iqbal Ghazni, who runs the fictional Rose Mosque and its fundamentalist madrasah in Peshawar. This genial man makes friends with a central character, Alex Jardine. As much as Alex hates what Ghazni stands for, he can't help warming to the man. In real life, a young American journalist actually experienced those same conflicted emotions. Alex also bumps up against another actual complication that has infected that region: whether the nurses who are giving polio jabs might actually be spies or worse still, terrorists. Another historical connection is the tribal hero to whom A Gun for a Song is dedicated - Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was assassinated by terrorists on 9/10 - just the day before 9/11. Massoud is a hero for Karim, one of the tribal teenagers of the story. And back in the very beginnings of Islam there is Nusaybah al-Maziniyah. She defended the Prophet with both sword and bow, and she's a heroic vision for the girls (Chapter 4). Londoner Alex, exploring the wider world on his gap year, is typical of many young people in the West who want to get to know more about the people and events that dominate their media at home. But, though his parents think his gap year is just about preparing for university, Alex is also making a sort of pilgrimage, retracing a mystery in his own family story - a lingering doubt buried in his British Raj family tree. The tribal teenagers Alex meets up with in Peshawar throb with the vision and energy to carry their heritage into the 21st century. For them rock 'n' roll needs to blend with generations of Northwest Frontier history. These young tribals are dedicated to the heroic defense of their heritage in these mountains that have stood at the crossroads of history all the way from Alexander the Great through the British Raj and into 21st century radical Islam. And just to crank up the storyline, add an heirloom gun - a Buntline Special - the classic revolver that was the sidekick of US cowboys. Also at the heart of the story is Zeinab, the daughter of a hill tribe whose territory straddles the West's imposed Durand Line between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Her family had to flee from the Taliban, and she has spent her adolescence in a refugee camp, becoming the highest achiever at the NGO school in the camp. But Zeinab has her aspirations thwarted: she is sent to Peshawar to be locked away in the oppressive Rose Mosque madrasah, simply because she wants to go to university. Zeinab is a budding poet and song-writer. And the "song" of the title, for anyone who's into folk music, its melody (see Prologue) was written by Stephen Foster, the same guy who wrote "The Camptown Races" - do-da day! As for Alex's school motto (Chapter 12) - "Function in disaster and finish in style" - that was my high school motto. One of my school mates, a career diplomat taken hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran in 1979, was finally released from captivity and students went to Dulles airport to welcome her home, waving a banner showing our motto. There is another great story behind A Gun for a Song, or rather, its cover illustration. It was created by Fakhria Nezami who was born in Peshawar. She now lives and works in Kabul, Afghanistan for the Turquoise Mountain Foundation. The story of the founder of Turquoise Mountain, British Member of Parliament Rory Stewart, is another great example of an adventurous young Brit heading out across the wide open world. It is my sincere hope that young Muslim readers of A Gun for a Song will feel inspired to be as forward-looking as the characters in my story, and that young readers of all backgrounds will understand what an inspiring road can be followed by all young people travelling together towards the future.