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Al-Dar, or The House, is the social conservative faction that is against the celebrity culture centered around Bridgeport. It is not only against the celebrity culture but also what they see as indecency of the mainstream Sim culture, such as beach parties glamorizing revealing outfits. As they are against such vulgar aspects of the culture, Al-Dar in many cases are allied with the Church, although Al-Dar disapproves of the Greek call for female activism in leadership and scholastic developments.
Al-Dar's residence is in the Chapel-Barrack style house, left vacant when the Initiates went along with Kallisto et al. to Hekatonschoinos (and did not bother to reoccupy once they returned).
Political Activism
Initially, Al-Dar was pretty much unheard of: Sure, Ayham may have been buddies with Lysistrata due to occupational issues but that was it: Al-Dar did nothing interesting enough to attract the attention of the outsiders, and the only people who actually paid any attention were of the Church. However, due to the policies of the Church as well as Chrysanthema's own community services, the Al-Dar made another ally inside the church before the Big 6 packed up and left Sunset Valley. From there things start to pick up for the Al-Dar: the two other members, Omar Qutb and Anwar Arafat joined up with Ayham and Usaim for one. Ayham and Usaim never bothered to maintain the house: Kallistrata's hunger for life fruits had left their garden well taken care of, and the Al-Dar never bothered to check the Nectar rack that now stored some valuable nectar made by Kallistrata (and alongside that of Kallisto, Hypatia, and some that were just plain bought, the last being the least valuable), and with all the combined efforts, Al-Dar got themselves some cash.
Al-Dar then proceeded to shape the political field of Sunset Valley, now that the Big 6 is gone and Sunset Valley has now a huge gap. Al-Dar sought to fill it with their ideas, beginning with a small mosque: The Greek Church happily supported the construction of the mosque, and Al-Dar contracted with the Greek Church, the Church agreeing to provide any fund that the Al-Dar cannot provide for themselves regarding the construction of the mosque. The Church acquired the piece of land right next to the Al-Dar's Chapel-Barrack and forked that to the Al-Dar, which became a controversial move: Has the Church gone too far? Should they be favoring a minority? Or it is a simple shielding? However, the Church endorsement of the mosque led to an underground ultranationalist party calling itself the Patriot Party in Sunset Valley, declaring itself the proponent of the freedom of the SimNation and declaring the Al-Dar as invaders and the Church as a collaborator.
Although Patriot Party was still a minority party in Sunset Valley, Al-Dar found itself threatened by the nativist appeal of the Patriot Party amongst native sims (that is, not Greek nor Muslim) Along with that came the Attalids, who also were sent back to wait until Kallisto finished the redevelopment of the Church capital world of Hekatonschoinos, further strengthening the xenophobic appeal of the Patriot Party amongst the conservatives, although those who'd buy into it the most, such as Nick Alto and Nancy Landgraab, were dead. Eurydike sent to Chrysanthema the Church success at resurrection, and specifically instructed Chrysanthema to revive the Altos and the Landgraabs, to cause a bigger bang to snuff out the Patriot Party's appeal. Al-Dar on the other hand wished to use positive methods, wishing to hold a BBQ gathering (without pork) at the Amphitheatron, and requested lease of the said property.
Although Al-Dar had initially wanted to lease things from the Greek Church, they suddenly decided to refuse any handouts from the Ecclesiarchy, but rather fund the construction of the mosque on their own. This was helped by Anwar embracing Kallistrata's idea of mercantilism, turning into a small nectar producer and a tinkerer, the latter suiting his skill as a handyman. As such, Usaim presented his opinions to Chrysanthema, who agreed (although Kallisto wasn't so happy, since Kallisto wanted to use the opportunity to turn them into reliable allies/vassals) to the Al-Dar's new position. But due to the pressure form Kallisto, Chrysanthema insisted that the Al-Dar lease the land instead of purchasing it, and Al-Dar was agreeable, since having significant real estate would make them visible. Anwar's position as a nectar maker and a tinkerer had an appreciable effect on the public image: in fact, Anwar himself was nominated as a children's hero, akin to the likes of Bob the Builder and eventually ends up a minor celebrity in the area, Esomena and Pyrrha happily writing a series presenting Anwar as a main character. Omar on the other hand decided to pursue a career in Sports (something that was approved by Usaim), hoping to help out with the Al-Dar finances, especially since a mosque would require some funds.
Sunset Valley Renaissance
The formation of the Papal State significantly weakened the Ecclesiarchal control over Sunset Valley when it comes to law. With the Papal State becoming a separate state, the Ecclesiarchy was significantly less able to pressure the government to pass measures to halt what they thought was harmful, such as the ever-so-looming threat of papparazzi-created rumors, and before the Papal State the Ecclesiarchy was able to pass several ordinances with their vast political influence to shut down the papparazzi. However, this is irrelevant to Al-Dar's participation in the Sunset Valley Renaissance, which was bolstered by their choice of residence.
Al-Dar has been well-endowed with the resources previously left by the Initiate househould when Kallisto built a second Naos-Stratopedon to house them. With them out of the picture, Al-Dar was able to claim the house without much resistance, and even after the Initiate household returned, neither the Initiates or the main chapter lodged protest, since Initiate household settled for the Epiteichisma style house formerly occupied by the Alkmaionids. With the house came a number of upgraded nectar makers and a batch of very high quality fruits, which was of particular interest to the engineer Anwar. Of course, Usaim being an outdoor man also looked towards the fruit trees and vines with much interest, but it was Omar who actually started the Al-Dar takeover of the vacuum in the nectar market left behind by departure of Kallistrata.
While the Renaissance took place, it was then Al-Dar actually took the effort to build an austere mosque, having 3 minarets while having very little ornamentation inside the mosque. Although the mosque was built, it hasn't caught any major attention yet for the better: the Patrioty Party having problems inside their own ranks, namely the rift between the United Snake and Divided Snake.
After Esomena ordered the second reformation of Sunset Valley, in which Esomena pretty much cleared the town, Al-Dar were given special rights and were eligible to stay along with a few others, such as Boyd, Yumi and Artie who remained one of the most pro-church residents of Sunset Valley. With Esomena and not Kallisto on charge, Al-Dar pretty much had even more leeway and plenty of cash, as well as a decent income especially due to lack of competition given the lack of a local nectary for a time being, which Anwar took full advantage of given his dedication to nectar making and tinkering. With Esomena effectively doing nothing to fill the gap for the time being, Anwar takes the role as the chief vintner of town. Of course, Esomena's reformation also meant the destruction of the first mosque, which led to the plans for a bigger one. With the Altos and the Landgraabs gone (save for Holly), Al-Dar essentially became the local "nobility" that is technically independent of the Ecclesiarchy, alongside the Aidouoi.
Here the Al-Dar started to produce good brands, effectively establishing themselves as an viable rivals to Kallistrata's state-run nectar business: Al-Dar's main brand, the Blessing of Allah, was celebrated by the connoisseurs as a break from the life fruit laden nectars of Kallistrata, and with the good reviews and short supplies (Anwar's work is less plentiful compared to Kallistrata's), kept prices high. The other brand, the Medina's Passion made by Usaim, also gained positive reviews, although that nectar was considered more fit for the commoners and the lower upper class rather than the elites. With cash flowing into the house, the Al-Dar started to join the hybrid culture in Sunset Valley, contributing to the melting pot. By doing so, the Al-Dar relaxed on their strict insistence on quasi-Victorian dress code, partly due to the Ecclesiarchal encouragement for the said dress code. On top, the Al-Dar soon found the Aedui quite amiable, both preferring large social gathering in a relatively patriarchal environment. Given that the Al-Dar got good foreign friends, the Al-Dar found it less interesting to complain about what they thought was wrong with the Ecclesiarchy, specifically the relatively feminist environment.
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