The Submission

Because Asma has been outed, she chooses to self-deport. She packs her bags full of American things and thinks of her relationship with her husband and with God. Because the Mahmouds were so surprised about the $1 million they’d not been told about, they ejected her but then forgave her upon discovering that Asma was leaving. Asma imagines opening a school to bring about change in her country. If she opens a school, and then each student in turn opens a school, pretty soon a large impact will be made. Asma puts herself in God’s hands. All she is and all she has, including Abdul, are his to do with as he will. Maybe it is his plan to take her back to Bangladesh.

As Asma and Abdul are leaving the building, loaded with packages and bags and surrounded by friends and reporters, a scream sounds out. Asma is stabbed. Nasruddin pushes his way through the crowd and takes charge. He sees that Abdul is taken to safety and then grabs Alyssa, whom he recognizes as the woman who wrote the piece about Asma for the Post. Even though he has nothing but contempt for her, he drags her to safety, handing her to a cop and saying, “Protect her.