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I can trust will be quickly assembled. And, because service in the SPS is to be much desired, I think that the ranks will be filled very quickly.”
    â€œVery well, National Leader Franken. Put your plan into operation.”
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    There began, after that, a gradual improvement in day-to-day living conditions, but not without some unwelcome changes. Television and radio broadcasts were reestablished, but they were nothing but nonstop propaganda for Moqaddas Sirata, words that, the first time they were heard, meant absolutely nothing to the average American.
    Every television and radio broadcast began with the same statement.

    All praise be to Allah, the merciful. Whomsoever Allah guides there is none to misguide, and whomsoever Allah misguides there is none to guide. You must live your life in accordance with the Moqaddas Sirata , the Holy Path. Those who do will be blessed. Those who do not will be damned.

    But these same television broadcasts brought the citizens of the American Islamic Republic of Enlightenment the welcome news that soon, a new currency would be issued.

    So that all may start equally, we will establish distribution points where everyone will be given enough money to provide yourself and your family with the basic necessities of life. This we do in praise to Allah the merciful.

    Less than a month after his meeting with Reed Franken, enough of the SPS had been reconstituted to make a show of strength in Muslimabad, and, once again, Ohmshidi was summoned by Rahimi. This time though, the meeting was not in the White House, but in what had once been the Harry S. Truman Federal Building, occupied by the Secretary of State. Mohammad Akbar Rahimi, the Minister of Culture for Moqaddas Sirata , now occupied the executive office suite on the fifth floor. In the “before time” the lobby of the executive office suite had been decorated with a mural by James McCreery, entitled Liberty or Death: Don’t Tread on Me. The work depicted the founding of America, featuring maps, cannons, rifles, and flags of the era. Now, however, all the historical icons had been painted over by a dull green, in keeping with the elimination of images; for there is a hadith which states that one should not leave a picture without obliterating it. It was also a diminution of any history of what had been the United States.
    â€œYou sent for me, Imam?” Ohmshidi asked when he was shown into Rahimi’s office.
    â€œYes. In one hour you will give a television address to the nation.”
    â€œBut, what shall I say?”
    â€œIt has been written, and will appear on the teleprompter. All you have to do is read what it says.”
    â€œWhere shall I give this speech?”
    â€œYou are the president; you will speak from your office.”
    â€œYes, Imam. Thank you, for your mercy and kindness.”
    One hour later, cameras were brought into the Oval Office, teleprompters were put up, and a voice-over intoned:

    All praise be to Allah, the merciful. Whomsoever Allah guides there is none to misguide, and whomsoever Allah misguides there is none to guide. You must live your life in accordance with the Moqaddas Sirata , the Holy Path. Those who do will be blessed. Those who do not will be damned.
    Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the American Islamic Republic of Enlightenment, Mehdi Ohmshidi.

C HAPTER T HREE
    Firebase Freedom, Fort Morgan, Alabama
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    â€œLook,” Julie said, pointing to the TV screen. “It’s President Ohmshidi.”
    â€œOhmshidi? I thought that son of a bitch was dead,” Willie Stark said.
    The others who were present inside the fort at the moment gathered around the TV to see what Ohmshidi had to say.
    Ohmshidi’s appearance had changed drastically since he was first elected president of the United States. Now his hair was longer, he was wearing a beard, a dishdasha and a taqiyah . His desk was flanked, left and right, by two muscular and unsmiling