Chapter 12

Mo starts receiving threats and picketers start protesting outside his house. He is now a public celebrity. Meanwhile, his relationship with Laila is deepening. The combination leads him to spend a majority of his time at her apartment. Almost more time than Laila. She actually lets him move in under the pretense that his apartment "may not be safe."

Mo reads a news article from the New Yorker saying that he, Mo, has "every right to proceed with his memorial" but asks whether he should proceed. The New Yorker is traditionally more left leaning and this puts Mo aback. He was expecting support from that audience, but now it seems like he's getting bashed on all sides. He is still receiving plenty of support (Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, ect.) , but seeing it in print throws him off. Mo starts analyzing the difference between Mo Khan and the fictitious Mohammed Khan that all the journalists are feeding on. They misrepresent Mo and one even said he had a jihadist brother (Mo is an only child). Mo's become an overnight phenomenon, a trend that is dividing America.

Paul and Sean meet for breakfast. They go to a fancier restaurant which makes Sean feel uncomfortable and out of place, giving Paul home field advantage. Sean attempts to be hard with Paul, but is smitten with the aristocratic manner of the restaurant: he's interrupted by underlings trying to impress Paul and impatient waiters. This causes him to come off as weak in the eyes of Paul and Sean leaves bitter. But Paul did give him a small bit of advice, "'Go lie down on the site if it will make you feel better.'"

Two anti-Khan groups, Save America from Islam (SAFI) and the Memorial Defense Committee (MDC), are now joining forces. The MDC is headed by Sean while SAFI is led by Debbie Dawson, a white America divorcee with a militant agenda. Sean finds SAFI to be an unruly, aggressive group of mostly middle-aged housewives. They are obsessed with "dhimmitude" which they describe as the "voluntary submission to being second-class citizens under Sharia law." While they don't see eye-to-eye, Debbie and Sean decide that mobilizing together.

Asma has tea with her landlady, Mrs. Mahmoud. Mrs. Mahmoud is a larger woman who loves to gossip. Asma bears it out of appreciation for all the hospitality and help the Mahmouds have offered her since her husband's death. They disagree over whether Khan should build the memorial; Asma thinks he should while Mrs. Mahmoud thinks otherwise.

Paul is at a fundraiser for his younger son, Samuel. Samuel is a prominent leader in the gay rights movement. While listening to "a windbag" talk about an incompetent employee. Rather than firing his underling, the man gave him enough meaningless tasks that he quite out of aggravation. Paul hopes to use this method on Mo. Paul starts by demanding Mo choose an landscape architect to help with the design. Then he pushes Mo to alter the design of the Garden. Mo doesn't take the bait, and Paul realizes that his respect for Mo is rising. He sees a drive that he himself had.

Chapter 11

Claire and Mo meet for the first time at Paul Rubin's house. She thanks him for the Garden. Paul is throwing a "Congratulatory reception" for Mo, formally recognizing him as the jury's choice architect. While there, Ariana backhandedly insults Mo and his design and there is a group picture to document the event. Mo is the only person who smiles.

After he leaves the party, Mo calls Laila Fathi, his lawyer, to have a drink. He knows that she is "not his type" but he wants the company never the less. While from different worlds, the two connect based on their shared Muslim heritage and culture and prejudice experiences. They leave the restaurant and head back to Laila's place. They have to be careful though; Laila believes that no affection can be displayed in public due to their professional relationship.

Claire looks at the group photo and is bitter that Khan did not express pure gratitude to her; she was expecting him to appreciate her pushing his design more. Claire then reads the Times Arts section where there is a column on the Garden. Traditionally a liberal author and audience, the article points out the similarities to Islamic gardens in the memorial. Some more conservative pieces are going as far as to call it a "martyrs paradise." People are being offended by the Garden now, looking at it as a slap to the face from the Islamic world; they think that this Garden will encourage more Muslims to commit act of terror.

Lou Sarge is a conservative radio pundit who the Gallagher family listens to. He believes that Khan may be conspiring to plant something (a bomb) in the Garden. The Governor comes on and addresses the idea of it being an Islamic Garden. She says that if it is, it may be "unconstitutional" and she will veto the jury's decision. Sean listens and while his family berates the Governor and complains he vows to crush the Garden for his mother's sake. He sees her pain first hand and can't stand to see one of her son's grave built by a Muslim. Sean thinks about his visit to Claire's house and hopes he scarred her. And he wishes he had thrown the rock into her house.

Chapter 10

Asma visits the local grocery to buy some food. While she reads the paper she over hears two men in front of her discuss the memorial competition results. They compare it to the 1970 Pakastini suppression of the Bangledesh election.

When Asma gets home, she realizes that her bag of rice has been leaking since leaving the grocery. She returns to the store and explains what happened. The shop owner, Mr. Chowdhury, claims that she is lying and refuses to compensate her. She shows him the trail but Mr. Chowdhury refused to change his mind.

Paul visits Governor Bitman one morning at her request. Bitman is using this event as a political move to win over more Conservative voters. She claims that Paul doesn't "'have a grip on the process.'" Paul realizes that the Governor had called him out of friendship to warn him that she was going to start to target his jury for their decision.

Alyssa sits in apartment trying to draft a new topic for her article. Since she left the Daily News, she had been hired by the New York Post as a Columnist. Her new editor, Chaz, encourages her to "tell what people to think." While brain storming she thinks back to an old flame she had with another reporter named Oscar. Not particularly handsome, the law enforcement reporter and her had a fling that she missed. Back to the column Alyssa types out, "' The problem with Islam is Islam.'"

Mo sees Thomas for the first time at work. Thomas shoves Mo up against a wall, furious at his friend. Then he starts laughing. While still angry, Thomas is still friends with Mo because "the man couldn't hold a grudge." Mo then meets with his boss, Roi. Despite his bitterness, Roi vows to support Mo in his endeavour. Still, Mo feels insecure.

Claire is told by Lanny to check the column by Alyssa Spiers. In it, Spiers says that Claire is "sleeping with the enemy" and that she has a soft spot for Khan. The next morning she starts to disconnect all the landlines so other reporters can't contact her. Sean Gallagher then comes to her house. Claire hides and refuses to answer the door. Sean waits but eventually leaves but not before taking rocks from one of her cairns with him.

Chapter 9

Mo meets with Issam Malik, leader of the Muslim American Coordinating Council (MACC). The members present at the meeting argue whether the MACC should back Mo or not as he does not seem particularly excited to rally for their Islamic cause. Ultimately the group agrees to support Khan. Laila Fathi, a young female lawyer who is also helping out Asma, also works with the MACC and becomes the Mo's personal spokesperson.

Claire goes to central park with her two children to make a path of stone stacks as a small memorial for her husband. She is worried that the majority of families who lost loved ones will protest the Garden because of it's designer's religion. The charge is already being led under the leadership of Sean Gallagher. 

At a speech in a high-school auditorium, both Sean and Governor Bitman address a crowd of surviving family members. The Governor tells them that even though the jury has decided, the public still may weigh in. When Sean goes up on stage, he specifically calls out Claire for not properly representing the family members. Claire then steps out of the crowd. She takes the stage and addresses the issue and defends the Garden, without bringing up Khan.

Clarie runs into Edith, Sean's mother, once she comes off stage. Edith catches Claire off guard and makes her feel very uncomfortable. Claire is then mobbed by Alyssa Spier. She avoids the reporter by quickly dashing to her car. She heads home, worried that Cal won't get his proper memorial.

Alyssa watches helplessly as Mo reveals himself as the winner of the memorial competition during a press conference hosted by the MACC. While she initially the mystery Muslim, he was no longer a mystery, thus Alyssa lost her advantage in the press. 

To combat this, she researches Khan's associates. She comes across Thomas Kroll. She visits his house where she interrogates him for all he knows. He personally was offended when he found out because Mo never told of his plan. His wife, Alice, is pissed because she's afraid that the publicity will put their family at risk. Despite Alyssa's biased prying, Thomas remains steadfast in his support of his friend. Other reporters find out about Kroll but Alyssa tells them not to bother, trying to maintain the advantage. 

Chapter 8

Asma Andwar is a twenty-one year old immigrant from Bangladesh. She lost her husband, Inam, in the attacks on the World Trade Center. They were in America illegally and thus there was no record or identity for her husband to die under. Since his death, Asma had been living off her Mosque's Widow and Orphan Fund and the generosity of her landlords, the Mohmouds. A little while after the attack, she gives birth to a baby boy, who she names Abdul Karim.

Asma receives counsel from the community leader, Nasruddin. Asma is a traditional Muslim woman as is her community. He takes her to meet a lawyer named Laila who wants to help Asma obtain compensation for her husbands death. Laila strikes Asma as odd since even though she is Muslim, Laila doesn't cover her head. Despite this, Asma agrees and walks away with $1.05 millions.

She still has to live modestly, but now she doesn't worry about where the money's coming from. She then hears Lou Sarge, a conservative talk show personality, say that illegals' names should not be included on the memorial. This angers Asma but the mayor reassures the public that aliens should be included as well. While this relieves Asma, she's still shaken to know that her husband is now just a name.

Chapter 7

Sean Gallagher lost his brother, Patrick, during 9/11. Patrick had been a firefighter and since his death, Sean had started volunteering everyday to clear the rubble and ash. He comes each night to his wife who complains that he smells like death. Sean, however, considers the ash to be "holy" and saves it.

Two years later, Sean is having dinner with his family and members of the Memorial Support Committee that he heads. They are responding to the Post's report saying they will do everything in their power to prevent a Muslim from building the memorial.

In Sean's past, he dropped out of school, opened up a handyman business, and became an alcoholic. Five months before the attack, Patrick and Sean became estranged. After the attacks and the loss of his brother, Sean started giving speeches on the rescue and recovery efforts around the country. He moved back in with his parents where his mother, Eileen, makes it perfectly clear that she preferred Patrick over Sean. Sean realizes that the attack brought out the best in him.

Alyssa Spier basks in the glory of her story, appearing on talk shows and becoming a hit in the journalistic world. Everyone is talking about the "mystery Muslim." Even the Mayor was forced to bring it up. For her, this was the pinnacle of her success up unto this point; what she had been waiting for her entire professional life. And she only dreams of greater things.

Paul meets with Mo at a small bistro. Mo had since grown a beard, which puts Paul aback when first meeting. Paul reveals to Mo that the jury decision is not final yet, which incites a negative response from Khan. The two parlay with words for a while, finally leading Khan to bring up Paul Rubin's Russian, Jewish heritage and consequently name change from Rubinsky. They get the check and head separate ways.

Paul gets home to learn his eldest son, Jacob, has swung by to ask his father for money. Jacob is a forty-year old "filmmaker." He refused to "sell out" and thus lived on donations from his father. Tired from the "Khan situation" he snaps at his son. Paul realizes that he respects Mo more than his own son.

Chapter 6

Paul reads a detailed report on Kahn. Kahn was 37, went to University of Virgina and the Yale School of Art and Architecture, and has moved his way up the architectural food chain. His mother and father emigrated from India in 1966, relocating to Alexandria, Virginia. Nothing suggests Kahn is an extremist or anything less than a successful architect. Paul looks at the photo of Kahn, a "handsome young man, his skin pale brown, his hair black, curly, and short, his brows dark and paintbrush thick over a wide, strong nose." Paul, despite the reasons to go with Kahn, thinks of ways to fittingly let the jury know they need to pick a new winner.

Paul is called early in the morning by Lanny, the jury's chief assistant, who tells him that the New York Post just published an article saying a Muslim won the competition. Paul picks up a copy of the paper, revealing the article was written by Alyssa Spier.

Mo stops by a news vendor and picks up a copy of the Post. He reasons that it had to him that won the competition. When he gets home, he pastes a copy of his submission photo over top of the article's "generic Muslim photo" and hangs it up on his wall.