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).