The Submission

As Asma and Nasruddin make their way off the stage, they are touched and encouraged by those around them. Sean is among them and resists his urge to shake their hands by opening the door. He remembers a lesson Patrick taught him about football. In your private mind, never give sympathy to your opponent. You might stumble if you do.

In the crowd Sean grabs Claire Burwell’s arm hard, and she struggles to break free. He claims to be trying to help her, and she reminds him of the time he and his buddies came to her house to threaten her and of the giant poster of her face covered in a question mark that he carried in a rally. However, he senses the change in her, sees her new doubts about the garden memorial. He shouts for her to choose. He pushes forward without actually touching her as his father rushes up, calling his name to save him from the incident.

The jury meets once again, and by this time Claire’s doubts have grown more palpable. She remembers when Cal commissioned matryoshka dolls to represent the family. Within each doll nested a family member, from Cal, the largest on the outside, to their daughter Penelope, the smallest on the inside. Now Claire sees herself as a matryoshka doll, with her different selves and different opinions nested one inside the other. An informal vote is taken from which Claire abstains, though she internally sides with the families who wish to scrap the garden memorial. The vote carries to support the garden, but Paul insists it’s not a real vote; they will vote officially in three weeks, and all should consider the feelings of the one family member on the committee—Claire. At this point, Ariana has long supported the garden.

Mo wakes up to cold beef and broccoli and multiple messages from his lawyer. News has it that Mo blasphemed during his speech by saying the Quran was written by a man. Many in the Muslim world now claim he deserves the death penalty. Mobs are assembling, and he is being burned in effigy.

Mo goes to Laila to ask for advice. Businesslike and brusque, she tells him he has two choices: Deny that he meant what he said or let it all die down.

For a time Asma is all the rage. Her neighborhood women surround her, talking about what a splash she made and how even Oprah wants her on her show. But all this changes quickly when letters started to pour in, saying things like, “We will burn you,” “f---ing c--t,” and “terrorist b---h.” Nasruddin asks his daughter to translate all the words he doesn’t know. Then he asks a neighborhood cop for advice on how to keep Asma safe. He is quickly rebuffed.

Nasruddin comes home from work; his employer is both a butcher and the landlord. Upon Nasruddin’s entrance, the butcher says his wife has threatened to fire him. At home he finds Alyssa interviewing Asma, with his daughter serving as translator. Knowing nothing good can come from this, he skips breaking the dawn fast the next morning and hurries to get a copy of the Post. There is Asma’s laughing face with the word “illegal” plastered across it.

Paul is invited to a morning meeting with the governor and her team. They tally the public’s sentiment and note that Khan’s popularity has risen. Paul, and probably everyone else, realizes the shift in sentiment came from the bounce produced by Asma’s speech. But that’s all taken care of, they declare, referring to the Post article exposing Asma as an illegal and her $1 million grant from the government in compensation for Inam’s death. Paul’s heart has softened, but he realizes that no matter how the situation goes, even if Khan sues them in court, the governor has everything to gain from the publicity of “defending her country.”