Image of God

Julia Ortay

Description

Three men whose paths cross in the dark, who have come face to face with death, all have a journey in the history of religions. Will the questions of Doctor Adam, who sometimes compares prophets to bad politicians and to a philosopher, enlighten us? Will he help us find God or is there really a God to console our souls? Here is a story that will shake the reader with its questions. What does the old testament say? "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.'" Then, if he created mankind similarly, do homosexuals, those born blind or disabled, those with mental disabilities, those who turned into monsters by starting wars and slaughtering people also reflect the image of God? Who are we really? Who is God? First, we need to free God to save humanity. Perhaps, we will have to say goodbye to God while reading the story of the Cat of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople. If you are ready to question your birthplace, the system, the beliefs of your family and what they taught you, then these five short stories that take place in Syria, Istanbul, and the USA were written for you.

Sujets

• LGBT
• Short story

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
• Date de parution: 31 janvier 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781638291343
• Langue: English

Extrait

T he I mage of G od
Julia Ortay
Austin Macauley Publishers
31-01-2022
The Image of God About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgment The Image of God Hagia Sophia’s Cat Seventh Tier Eve’s Apple My Poor Teeth
About the Author
Julia Ortay was born in Istanbul, Turkey. She is currently living in Orlando, Florida, USA. Her two books were published in Turkey and she wrote short stories for multiple Turkish literature magazines. Ortay has thirty-five stories published in literature magazines in Turkey so far. Her first English article was published in the book Actually, I Can by Florida Literacy Coalition, Inc. in 2019.
Dedication
Dedicated to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, my beacon, the founder of the Modern Turkish Republic. He provided freedom to the Turks, separated religion from country affairs as a rule, and established equal rights for women.
Copyright Information ©
Julia Ortay 2022
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Ordering Information
Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Ortay, Julia
The Image of God
ISBN 9781638291336 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781638291343 (ePub e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021925229
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published 2022
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302
New York, NY 10005
USA
[e-mail]
[phone]
Acknowledgment
All thanks to my husband for his support in my journey. For his wisdom, the resources, and the time I need.
The Image of God
As he tried to get used to the darkness, Faris called out, “Is anybody out there?” Meanwhile, taking careful steps, he searched for a piece of furniture he could cling to, perhaps a wall. The stench of urine and feces made him sick to his stomach. He took a few more steps, he noticed a tiny flicker of light and walked slowly toward it. At the point he arrived, there were the first steps of descending stairs. From the top of the stairs, he called out again, “Is anybody out there?” This time he heard a voice from below; “We are here.”
Faris tried to go down the stairs while taking very careful steps and clinging to the wall with his hand. When the stairs ended and he entered the room, he came across two men sitting by the candlelight. You could tell by their clothing that one was an imam, and the other looked like a foreigner.
“Salam alaikum, my name is Faris,” he said.
Imam introduced himself, “My name is Misbah.”
The person he thought was a foreigner said, “My name is Doctor Adam Cohen.”
Misbah turned to Faris and asked, “Why are you here? Why have they arrested you?” Faris bowed his head as though he committed a great crime, a sin, and remained silent for a while.
Then instead of answering the question, he looked at Misbah and said, “Why are you here? As far as I know, these men wouldn’t have any problems with the Imams.”
Misbah said, “I have a sister. She goes around without a headscarf on; and I don’t force her to wear one. But today Mujahideen saw her and surrounded her in a dark corner of the street. They started cursing and beating her. The shopkeeper came and told me. I ran out of the house and went to her. I asked them to let my sister go. They turned to me and shouted angrily, ‘You’re an imam and yet you let your sister walk around like a hooker!’ I told him he shouldn’t be insulting my sister, not covering her head doesn’t make a woman evil. He got really angry. He pushed my sister down the wall and walked over to me. He came to face me up close and said, ‘What kind of an imam are you, what kind of a Muslim? Don’t you know our orders that are written in the book?’ and he punched me in the face. I leaned against the wall behind me so as to not fall. Holding my jaw which started to ache, I said, ‘Of course, I know. But everyone has the right to live by their free will, as they want.’ However, the Mujahideen hit my face a second time, saying, ‘Everyone has to live according to our religion.’ He said to his men, ‘Take them into the vehicle,’ and here I am.”
Faris said, “Where is your sister, then?”
“I don’t know, they closed our eyes when we were put in the vehicle. I didn’t get to find out where they brought us and where they took her.”
Faris was very sad about Misbah’s situation as if he forgot his own troubles. Then he turned to Adam, “Why did they arrest you? I guess you’re not from here, are you? But you speak our language very well.”
Adam said, “Yes, I learned it at school. It was a bit difficult, but it seems I managed.