Following the 9/11 attacks, Arab-Americans face discrimination and mistreatments. Moustafa Bayoumi details stories of seven young people with Arab roots who faced discernment and oppression after the attack. However, despite the challenges faced by these young people, their stories are filled with optimism. The seven are Sami, Rasha, Akram, Yasmin, Omar, Lina, and Rami. Rasha’s Syrian family fled the country due to violence. In 2002, the family was put behind bars in unclear circumstances. In jail, the family is subjected to bigotry by prison wardens. However, with the help of a counsel, the family is released after three months. Many families of Arab origin faced a similar fate. The arbitrary arrests drew the attention of human rights movements who condemned those acts.
Despite being a Christian and working with the Marine Corps, Sasha is subjected to marginalization mainly because he has Arab roots. His colleagues call him terrorist and do not trust him. Next, Bayoumi narrates the story of a student named Yasmin. Yasmin fights and wins a leadership position in her school. However, she is subjected to discrimination until she resigns. As a result, she gets a lawyer who compels the school to amend some discriminatory regulations. The fourth victim of marginalization in Bayoumi’s book is Akram. He is in college, and his family operates a grocery store in Brooklyn. Akram is exposed to regular marginalization until he gives up and moves to Dubai.
Bayoumi’s fifth character is Lina. Her family origin is Iraq. Though Lina is a Muslim, she becomes influenced by the Western lifestyle and defies strict Muslim rules. Despite being westernized, Lina experience hostilities due to her ethnicity. Consequently, Lina declares that after marriage, she will move to Syria, where there is no discrimination. Omar is the sixth character. He is educated and got an internship at Al Jazeera. However, his chances of getting formal employment in the U.S media are limited. Omar worries about getting a job in the news media due to his ethnicity. The last character is Rami. His father was arrested and detained after the terror attack. However, Rami decides to enlighten his fellow Muslims about the Quran. He aims to strengthen the relationship between Muslims and people with different religious faith.
