"Warriors of the Sky" appears in this compilation of short stories by famous writers, among them Juan Goytisolo and Paulo Coehlo. Each story represents one of the Articles of the Declaration of Human Rights.
"Warriors of the Sky," by Mahmoud Saeed, pertains to the right to assembly. The story weaves a tight tale of deceit and villainy on a personal scale, reflected onto the backdrop of the struggle on a larger scale within Islam to define its own essence.
With a few deft strokes of description Saeed places the reader in the midst of Iraq's landscape: "the vast, endless palm forests on both sides of the Euphrates;" the impending action: "there were other puffs of dust cloud on the horizon, which meant more cars were coming;" the house: "the breakfast table was set alongside the garden side of the kitchen;" the beautiful wife and children: "She got off her chair and held hands with the children and started to dance to Muhammad's beautiful voice reciting a dabka:...." and the villain: "He was stuck with an ugly mug, bulging eyes, a balding head and a body to go with all that."
Upon finishing the story, the reader feels as if she has read a novel and not a short story, given the visual, cultural and emotional impact these few pages have on the imagination.