Over the tightrope

By Asif Ismael

Subjects: Islam and secularism, Fiction, Identification (Religion)

Description: It's 2050--New York. In the aftermath of a grueling vision quest on ayahuasca--a psychedelic compound--Ismaeel, a Pakistani-American graduate student, enters an otherworldly alliance with spiritual beings who send him on a perilous journey of self-discovery. A nonbeliever, he must return to Pakistan, now in the grips of a brutal fundamentalist government, and gain the trust of his estranged father, a prominent extremist in the regime. To accomplish this he must pose as a true believer. Thus unfolds his mysterious mission--the Path to High Knowledge--that blends past, the present, as well as Ismaeel's quest for true understanding of faith. Will he survive long enough to infiltrate his father's inner sanctum and complete his mission?