Ali Imran

:"For the Sura, see Aale Imran

Ali Imran ( _ur. علی عمران) is a fictional character created by Pakistani novelist Ibn-e-Safi, and the protagonist of "Imran Series".

Imran is a bright and young Oxford graduate, holding both M.Sc. and D.Sc. degrees in chemistry. His most prominent personality characteristic is his foolishness, which acts both as a comic relief and as a cover for his mysterious and highly secret personality, X-2, the chief officer of Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Secret Service. Despite being ruthless and cunning in the line of his duty, Imran naturally appears as a complete moron, which makes his personality an interesting paradox.

Biography of Ali Imran

Early years

Like James Bond, Ali Imran is also an ageless character. He is described to be in his late twenties in earlier novels, and in some later books, early thirties.

Imran's childhood was briefly described by Ibn-e-Safi in one of the novels, "Dr. Duago", when he was stating the reasons for Imran's paradoxical personality. Imran's mother was a pious Muslim lady, who wanted to see her son following the religion as well. However, Imran's father , Mr. Karam Rahman (who was also the director general of the Intelligence Bureau's detective unit), chose an American Christian missionary school for his early education. The contradictory teachings of his mother and his school transformed Imran's personality in such a twisted manner that after getting initially confused, he started ridiculing almost everything. Also, due to the strict and dictatorial personality of Mr. Rahman, Imran started living a dual personality from his childhood, acting differently at home and in the outside world.

It is often told in the novels that Imran's family is Pashtun and descendant of Genghis Khan. He also has a younger sister, Surayya.

:"See also: Family of Ali Imran"

Time in London

After completing high school, Imran was sent to London to live with one of Mr. Rahman's English friends, who was a police officer. That friend urged Imran to study criminology, and even provided him with some cases for practical experience. It was during this time that Imran first met the Chinese criminal mastermind, Sing Hee, and defeated a gangster named McLawrence, who had terrorized London.cite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | title = Lashon ka Bazaar ( _ur. لاشوں کا بازار) | publisher = Asrar Publications ]

Imran returned to his homeland (believed to be Pakistan, although never explicitly stated by Ibn-e-Safi) after earning M.Sc. and D.Sc. degrees in chemistry.

tart of crime fighting career

Mr. Rahman wanted Imran to join a local university as a professor after his return from London, but Imran flatly refused. After some time, he became friends with Captain Fayyaz, who was a subordinate of Mr. Rahman. Imran started helping Fayyaz in some of his cases, which boosted Fayyaz's profile, and also made some higher officials notice Imran's skills. This led to Imran's appointment as "officer on special duty" in his own father's department. Mr. Rahman was infuriated at first, but couldn't object because Imran was being recommended by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In "Bhayanak Aadmi" (Imran Series no. 4), Imran dealt with a mysterious smuggler of Shadab Nagar in his own style, which was dismissed by Mr. Rahman as a "non-detective, scoundrelly approach". Imran has also brought with him an Anglo-Burmese girl, Roshi, from Shadab Nagar. This annoyed Mr. Rahman so much that he forced Imran to resign and ordered him to leave the house. [cite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | title = Jahannum ki Raqqasah ( _ur. جہنم کی رقاصہ) | publisher = Asrar Publications ]

Imran moved into a flat (which was previously illegally confiscated by Captain Fayyaz), and together with Roshi, opened a private detective agency, disguised as a "forwarding and clearing agency", since the law didn't allow any private detectives.

ecret Service

Sir Sultan, who was a secretary in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a friend of Mr. Rahman, used to highly acknowledge Imran's abilities, and once requested for his aid in getting rid of a blackmailer. After Imran successfully helped him out, he offered to Imran the position of chief officer (X-2) in the ministry's secret service, which Imran accepted. [cite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | title = Raat ka Shahzadah ( _ur. رات کا شہزادہ) | publisher = Asrar Publications ]

Imran's role as X-2 is in complete contrast to his apparent personality. As Ali Imran, he acts as an opportunist, becoming either a police informer or a blackmailer according to the situation's needs. He also works as an informant and a mere "outside agent" for the Secret Service, and is almost always made fun of by other Secret Service members. However, as X-2, he is feared by the same Secret Service members, who do not know the identity of their chief officer, and have only heard his voice over the telephone or a transmitting device. They follow X-2's orders almost religiously, scared of any punishment that he may give if they disobey him. Only three other people know Imran's position as X-2, and those include Sir Sultan, Roshi, and Tahir/Black Zero (a Secret Service member whose duty was to pose as X-2 in Imran's absence).

Imran's adventures as X-2 included (among others) the thwarting of many espionage attempts, discovering of spies within national institutions, stopping a civil war conspiracy, and encounters with Zeroland (an international, mysterious, and highly resourceful "nation" of criminals). He was considered a "specialist" of Zeroland, having obtained high knowledge of its hierarchy, operations, and scientific advancements. Imran also had to deal with double crossing foreign agents, who conspired to reveal the identity of X-2.

As X-2, Imran reports directly to Sir Sultan, or to the Head of the State.

Description and personal life

In the books, Ali Imran has frequently been described as young, and having stunningly attractive facial features and a strong, athletic body, but also with a shower of foolishness running constantly on his face. Sometimes, the words "gorgeous moron" have been used to state his presence. He also dresses in an eccentric manner, referred to by Ibn-e-Safi as his "technicolor" outfit. For example, Imran may wear a pink coat, with a light green shirt, a yellow necktie, white pants, and a purple flat hat with a red rose in it. However, at times when the need arises, he wears proper and expensive suits. Imran's foolish acts have often described by Ibn-e-Safi to be his second nature and completely without any fabrication. In Imran's own words, he is a "fool of 1st degree" in times of peace. [cite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | year = 1974 | title = Ad Lava ( _ur. ایڈ لاوا) | publisher = Asrar Publications ]

Imran lives in a modest flat that he obtained through Captain Fayyaz. However, in later books, Mr. Rahman referred to that flat as his own property.

Imran's household staff include his cook, Sulaiman, and Sulaiman's wife, Gulrukh. Joseph Mugonda, Imran's black bodyguard also lives in the flat with them.

Personality traits

Imran possesses a sharp wit, which when combined with his intelligence and foolish sense of humor, often leads to interesting conversations. He rarely shuts up, annoying all others around him, even in the face of grave circumstances. He is sometimes stated to be an expert in enraging even the most serene of people.

Imran has often shown a certain disregard towards rules, and does break them if doing so is to his own advantage. It was due to his non-conformity to rules that Mr. Rahman demanded his resignation after he dealt with the smuggler of Shadab Nagar. However, Imran does not override the law and respects its authority, showing yet another side of his paradoxical personality.

Due to Imran's apparently vulnerable nature and handsome looks, women quickly develop a crush on him, but most of the time, Imran uses them to achieve his own goals and offers nothing but a cold shoulder. He is mostly unmoved by the charms of the fairer sex (just like Colonel Faridi), but has been shown to develop some affectionate feelings of friendship towards some of the women he had encountered, notably, Roshi and Mariana (during the "Ad Lava" series). Juliana Fitzwater, the only female member of Secret Service, has shown romantic feelings towards Imran on numerous occasions. Theresia Bumble Bee of Bohemia (T3B), who is one of the main antagonists of Imran Series and chief of the Zeroland, also has a huge crush on Imran, and Imran often flirts with her. However, being an extremely beautiful woman, Theresia once made Imran "aware of the existence of the most delicate portions of his mind" when she appeared before him without any disguise and makeup. [cite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | year = 1977 | title = Halakat Khez ( _ur. ہلاکت خیز) | publisher = Asrar Publications ]

Imran is fiercely patriotic and protecting his country from foreign spies and threats is his top priority. It is his this personality trait that makes him highly ruthless in the line of his duty. At times, Imran had also dropped his comical nature and acted in a cold and serious manner, intimidating other Secert Service members to an extent that they followed his lead silently without any objection. This was specially evident during Secert Service's adventure in the tribal area of Shikral. [cite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | year = 1957 | title = Darindon ki Basti ( _ur. درندوں کی بستی) | publisher = Asrar Publications ]

Mostly, Imran likes working alone, though he keeps in contact with his subordinates, either as X-2 or as Imran.

kills and abilities

Disguise

Imran is a master of disguise and makeup, which makes him execute his role as X-2 flawlessly. His voice as X-2 has been described as hoarse and harsh, in contrast to his own playful one. Imran also assumes other personalities from time to time, which are not as secret as X-2's and include:
* "Prince of Dhump": As Prince of Dhump, Imran acts as a fictitious prince of an equally fictitious state called 'Dhump'. He pompously puts on a show of riches and power while assumming this role, with Joseph acting as his bodyguard in his military uniform and holstered guns.
* "Rana Tahavvar Ali Sandooqui": Imran poses as a rich businessman while assuming the role of Sandooqui. Sandooqui is mostly shown as being out of town, and his huge villa, Rana Palace, remains under the care of Black Zero/Tahir (who appears just as an administrator of Rana Palace to other Secret Service members). Rana Palace, however, is one of the few buildings secretly used by the Secret Service.

An alias that Imran frequently assumes for himself is "Abdul Mannan". In Shikral, and other neighboring tribal areas, Imran is known as "Saf Shikan".

Imran also frequently uses what he calls his "ready made makeup", which consists of an ugly, fat nose, and moustaches so thick that they cover his mouth.

Intelligence

Despite his foolish exterior, Imran is a quick thinker and a cunning planner. He often comes up with clever and prompt solutions to different problems, and concludes correctly about various aspects of a case. He is also an expert con-artist, and uses his sharp tongue and comical personality to squeeze the required information out of other people.

Imran is also a quick learner and once learnt in short time how to steer a flying saucer, which belonged to Zeroland. [cite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | year = 1968 | title = Fazai Hangamah ( _ur. فضائی ھنگامہ) | publisher = Asrar Publications ]

Combat

Imran can handle himself in hand to hand combat easily and rarely gets beaten up by others. His style of fighting is often described as playful, with his face calm and his actions and movements smooth and under his control. In some novels, it is revealed that he practised Judo and other martial arts. Sometimes, he acted in a cowardly manner during a fight to give his opponent a false sense of superiority and then used it to his advantage.

Imran can also handle a great array of weapons competently. He once used a wooden stick to defend himself against opponents armed with spears.cite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | year = 1959 | title = Zulmat Ka Devata ( _ur. ظلمات کا دیوتا) | publisher = Asrar Publications ] He also judged at another time that a gun was not loaded by feeling its weight.cite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | year = 1959 | title = Zulmat Ka Devata ( _ur. ظلمات کا دیوتا) | publisher = Asrar Publications ]

Imran is also proficient in the "Sing Art", the technique of literally dodging bullets by judging the hand movements of the attacker, and moving sharply. The Sing Art was devised by Sing Hee, who performed it in front of Imran during his student years in London. Imran asked Sing to perform it again five times, and being a quick learner, was able to grasp the technique.cite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | title = Lashon ka Bazaar ( _ur. لاشوں کا بازار) | publisher = Asrar Publications ] Sing, initially stunned at Imran's brilliance, then declared Imran to be his nephew in the cunning arts, while Imran started calling Sing his "uncle". The Sing Art, however, works only if the attacker is single and is firing a single shot at a time.

Linguistics

Imran is a fluent speaker in many languages, including Urdu and almost all the regional ones. Foreign languages that he is shown to be fluent in include English, Arabic, Persian, Swahili, French, Italian, Spanish, and Germancite book | last = Ibn-e-Safi | title = Lashon ka Bazaar ( _ur. لاشوں کا بازار) | publisher = Asrar Publications ] . He is also capable of assuming native accents. It is not stated when or how he learnt all of them, but it can be assumed that most of these were learnt by him during his time in London.

Footnotes

ee also

* Ibn-e-Safi
* Imran Series
* Family of Ali Imran
* Secret Service members in Imran Series
* Other Important Characters of Imran Series
* Villains of Imran Series

External links

* [http://www.compast.com/ibnesafi/imran.htm Character of Ali Imran]