Black American (Amreekie Aswad) in the Desert Kingdom - Part I

This is Part I of the epic saga of Adam Sneed and the years he spent among the Bedouins of Saudi Arabia observing its difficult, yet necessary, transformation into a modern society. Saudis that have not traveled abroad resent the mechanisms of industrialization and the introduction of western ways in the country. Their major complaint is that these constructions were not designed or intended to comply with the scope and limits of Islamic belief. Neverthless, well traveled and highly educated Saudis believe the nation can adopt the conveniences they have grown accustomed to while living abroad and are convinced imports from the west can be modified to work within Islamic tradition. If their plan is to suceed, the large foreign workforce must be replaced by indigenous workers trained in the disciplines of a modern world. Meantime, neighboring lands have designs on seizing the oil fields of Arabia before the Saudis grow strong enough to resist invasion. Survival of the nation and the protection of its vital resources are directly linked to the Saudis race to modernize. Westerners working in Arabia enjoy the best of Bedouin hospitality and are paid well for their work. Foreign workers would love to remain in the desert kingdom, but the Saudis have other plans. Meanwhile, Adam makes an interesting discovery. There are communities of Blacks in every nation of the Middle East. Nobody seems to know exactly how large this population may be but for a fact there are millions of them. For Adam, this discovery answers questions he has harbored for years about what happened to the millions of Africans taken into slavery by Arabs beginning several hundred years before Europeans joined the slave trade. As he uncovers the roots of this mystery, he also discovers that Black slavery in the Middle East ended a century after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States. Freedom is relatively new for Middle Eastern Blacks. Adam begins to realize these millions have been kept invisible to the outside world, and he tries to find out the reasons why. In Part II Adam returns to Saudi Arabia and become an independent contractor. Using the lessons of his first tour, he networks Middle Eastern style and forges a business partnership that becomes highly successful until political and social pressures, terrorism and war threaten to destroy everything they have built. This is a story of a clash of cultures and the potential for reconciliation and understanding as Adam and his Saudi colleagues come to recognize the commonality of their respective peoples.