Mistreatment because of appearance
America is a place of overwhelming diversity, but that doesn't mean that the nation is free from the problem of xenophobia. Xenophobia and racism occur when someone's appearance signals that they are "foreign" to the norms of one's own society or point of view. This often triggers hateful reflexes if people are phobic of foreigners, so when the 9/11 Attacks happened in New York City in 2001, Tamim Ansary's life became reshaped by an overwhelming shift in public perspective. Before, he felt out of place and awkward, but after the attacks, he felt overwhelming judgment and negativity from strangers.
Looking past religious boundaries
Religion is a beauty, obviously natural part of human life, and it has occurred in basically every civilization that has ever been formed. The problem isn't with religion, the problem is that some people use their religious beliefs to draw dividing lines between them and those who are different than them, like the Christians who abused Tamim, although it was contrary to the intents of Christianity to do so. But that confusion and misjudgment can be corrected, says Tamim, as he learned from the supportive Christians. When Tamim took the time to express himself with a passionate email that went viral, then he saw support from his community, from people of all religious walks. This is a picture of humans looking on those who believe different things about God with charity, prioritizing the importance of each human life.
The value of human life
Ultimately, Tamim's story is a statement of Civil Right. He is staking a claim in the social sphere (through his viral email and now, this book) that human rights include being treated as equals in the public, even if one dressed differently than normal, or if one's religion happens to be something other than Christian. He feels that for a society to turn on him so quickly, and with prejudice and fear, he feels that it is a mistreatment of his self. This book is intended to correct a problem where people judged him based on his appearance, instead of allowing him to be innocent in their minds until proven guilty.
