The Submission

Asma Anwar, a pregnant undocumented Bangladeshi, lost her husband to the 9/11 attack. Inam had worked in the Twin Towers. She is helped by her friend Nasruddin, an Iranian American, and the Mahmoud family as she waits for her husband’s body, which is never found. After baby Abdul is born, with Nasruddin’s help, she receives her share of the funds for the families of the victims—over $1 million. Following Nasruddin’s advice, she lives frugally so the money will last her lifetime and so she won’t be endangered by extortionists.

Mo visits the God Box, which houses a Muslim organization, a Jewish organization, and several kinds of Christian associations, both mainline and evangelical. He goes to meet the Muslim personality he’d seen on TV, Issam Malik. Malik heads the Muslim American Coordinating Council, also known as MACC. Mo hopes to get Malik’s help in defending his winning entry.

Mo is instantly taken into a meeting with a group of very varied Muslims—South Asians, African Americans, several women wearing the hijab, and one woman with her head uncovered wearing a purple suit. The conversation turns toward the American rejection of Muslims, but when one man mentions how so many more Muslim Afghan children have died due to US sanctions than US citizens died in 9/11, Mo redirects the conversation, saying he wants to build an American memorial—other countries could build their own.