62 DESTINY DISRUPTED
the Islamic way, yet each was calling on Muslims to fight other Muslims.
This wasn't what they called jihad back in the good old days!
Curiously, Ayesha's cohorts included two men, Talha and Zubayd,
companions of the Prophet, who may have been part of the mob that at-
tacked Othman's palace that day. If not themselves assassins, they were cer-
tainly associated with the assassins-yet here they were, leading members
of a force vowing to avenge the assassination of Othman by toppling Ali!
Ali marched out of Medina with the few troops he could muster, but
various tribal warriors joined him on his way north, and his army grew to
imposing size. When he reached Basra, he sent a trusted comrade into the
city to negotiate with Ayesha. Remarkably, the spokesman's arguments got
through to the fierce young woman. First, she admitted that she didn't re-
ally think Ali had anything to do with Othman's murder. What she
blamed him for was failing to arrest the criminals responsible. Then, she
agreed that the criminals were part of a mob, and that the mob, which was
still in charge, drew its strength from chaos. Next, she admitted that by
fighting Ali, she was promoting chaos and so, yes, in a sense she herself was
helping the assassins escape justice. By the end of the day, she had agreed
to lay down her weapons, disband her army, and join forces with Ali. She
would meet with him in the morning to discuss terms.
The interaction reflected credit on both leaders: on Ali for seeking ne-
gotiation before battle, on Ayesha for the intellectual honesty that enabled
her, even in the heat of anger, even while surrounded by the smell of war
and the threat of death, to listen to Ali's case and admit the validity of
points that eroded her position-just because they were true. In this, there
was heroism.
The envoy returned to Ali's camp to give him the good news, and that
night celebration rang out on both sides. There would be peace! There was
just one problem that no one took into account: both armies contained
members of the very mob that had killed Othman and would be brought
to book if Ali and Ayesha made common cause. These men obviously
could not afford to give peace a chance.
Early the next morning, a gang of them crept out of Ali's camp and
launched a surprise attack on Ayesha's sleeping forces. By the time Ali
woke up, Ayesha's men were striking back. Both Ali and Ayesha thought
the other had double-crossed them, and thus began the Battle of the