Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree part 2

In the second half of the novel Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree Tariq Ali expresses many ideas about how the Islamic people of Al-Hudayl and how they were oppressed by the Spanish Christians.  I found Zuhayr to be a riveting character who became a product of his circumstances.  He started the Jihad and became the noble Islamic father, much like his father Umar, and it strongly contrasts the slow buildup of the novel.  The beginning of the novel focused mostly on the interpersonal relationship within the family; which is the opposite of the second half of the novel where the characters are now getting into the action with the Christians.  I found the action to be extremely compelling, I literally could not put my book down until I finished it.

The action comes to a paramount after Chapter 8, when Zuhayr leaves for Grenada, Ama Dies, and the Christian knights storm into Al-Andalus.  I think the fact that so many of the characters are leaving the mansion in Al-Andalus is so important because it is the clear effect of the Spanish Inquisition, and it is a clear symbol for the amount of suffering that all of Islamic Spain felt during the Inquisition and Reconquest. There are clear messages that Ali wants his readers to understand.  His ideas are fairly explicit, yet they are conveyed subtly until the action starts.  Once the action starts, especially the scene where the Christian knights storm the mansion at Al-Andalus.