Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero

Miss Terrance says the parade had a deeper purpose of “commemoration.” She circulates a handout about the War on Terror and asks students if they know someone in the army. Jared and another boy raise their hands.

Miss Terrance asks Yusuf what he thought of the parade, and Yusuf says it was “nice.” Yusuf isn’t ready to turn in his 9/11 report, so Miss Terrance gives him an extension, reminding him that “knowledge is power.”

At lunch, Cameron sits with Yusuf and Danial. Yusuf apologizes for accusing Cameron of writing the notes, but Danial is unfriendly, speculating that Cameron is in a “gang.” Ethan and his friends arrive, asking why Cameron is hanging out with Yusuf and Danial. Cameron leaves with them, and Yusuf wonders if Cameron is trying to “protect” him and Danial.

At the library, Yusuf researches 9/11 and the Patriot Act. Madison shows up and mentions that 9/11 became the deadliest act in the US, killing 2,996 people. Madison wonders how anyone could participate in such an attack, and Yusuf takes offense at the question, but Madison says she didn’t mean to hurt Yusuf’s feelings. She didn’t even know Yusuf was Muslim, which she pronounces as “Muz-lim.” She apologizes, and Yusuf starts researching Muhammad Ali.

For this year’s TRC, contestants must build a robot to pick up trash and put it in containers while avoiding people and cars. The challenge lasts three minutes.

Yusuf is chosen as the team captain. He and Danial will program the bot, Tony and Jared will design the bot, and Cameron will build it. Madison, unhappily, becomes the notetaker or “secretary.” Afterward, Mr. Parker and Yusuf discuss Cameron, with Mr. Parker vouching for Cameron’s decency.

Rahman’s sixth journal entry is dated September 25, 2001. He fights with Jonathan, whose uncle worked in the Twin Towers and remains missing. Jonathan pushes Rahman and accuses him of being “glad” about the attacks. He claims that Rahman isn’t American and should go back to where he came from. Rahman’s Muslim community feels safer praying in their homes than at the mosque.

As Yusuf leaves for school, Amma wonders why he carries all of his books with him instead of leaving them in his locker. Yusuf promises to leave the books in his locker. He’s afraid, but when he opens it, there’s no note.

For gym class, the boys must change in front of each other, and Ethan uses a towel to hit another boy’s behind. Yusuf confronts Ethan, and Ethan calls Yusuf a “dirty Mooz-lim.” Ethan wants to fight Yusuf, but the gym teacher, Coach Boston, intervenes and sends them to Principal Williamson, where Ethan claims they’re best friends and that Yusuf’s last name is Osama. Williamson dismisses Ethan and talks to Yusuf about middle school adversity and the TRC.

Jared comes over and doesn’t ask questions about why he must take his shoes off or the language Abba speaks on the phone. Yusuf and Jared work on designs for the bot until Aleena wakes up and Amma takes everyone to Dairy Queen. Aleena wants to go to the pumpkin patch, so Jared and Yusuf take the tractor hayride with her three times.

Jared thinks his grandmother will be glad he made a friend, and Yusuf gives Jared a deck of cards with the Statue of Liberty on the box. The boys discuss the statue’s symbolism and Mr. Grant’s beliefs that America belongs to white people.

As he finishes his 9/11 report, Yusuf thinks about how the attackers ruined his life. The next day at the construction site, Cameron says he saw Yusuf and Jared at the pumpkin patch and waved, but Yusuf and Jared didn’t wave back. Danial reminds Yusuf that Jared and Ethan are cousins, and he criticizes Yusuf for standing up to Ethan. Danial doesn’t want Yusuf to be a hero like his father, but Yusuf claims his Muslim faith obliges him to assist people. Amma instructs the kids to clean up the site so the churchgoers don’t have to walk through any trash.

Yusuf wonders why Abba always insists on creating a “perfect picture,” and he speaks to Amma about how complicated 9/11 is. Amma says 9/11 caused a lot of hatred, but suspicion of ostensibly different people is not uncommon.

The Patriot Sons and others protest the site, holding signs that read “STOP BUILDING,” “GO AWAY,” and “THIS IS OUR TOWN” (208). Mr. Khan tells the Muslim community to not react, and the churchgoers avoid the Muslims and walk on the other side of the street.

Rahman’s seventh journal entry is dated October 9, 2001. Jonathan doesn’t speak to him anymore—no one talks to the Muslim students. The US declares war on Afghanistan, but Rahman doesn’t believe the Afghan people carried out 9/11, so the US shouldn’t bomb them and kill “innocent people.” Rahman has many questions but no satisfactory answers. Rahman’s father loses his job at the university, and while flying back from a trip on an airplane, two men guard him in case he “tries anything.”

Amma gets distracted worrying about the Patriot Sons, and she forgets to add the eggs and the cinnamon when she makes cinnamon French toast. Yusuf and his family attend the zoning meeting at the Frey courthouse, which has been around for over a century. Officer Strickland, the person who responded to Abba’s 911 call during the robbery, is there and kindly welcomes the Muslim community.

Carla Busby, a city council member, leads the meeting. The mayor’s assistant confirms the legality of the mosque permit, and Mr. Grant screams at him for comparing the mosque permit to the permits for churches.

Mr. Grant calls himself the leader of the Southeast Texas chapter of the Patriot Sons, and he says they’re protesting the “Iz-lamic church” because the mayor supplied the permit without public feedback. The mayor’s assistant says they don’t allow citizens to give feedback because that would stifle construction. A city council member asks why the Islamic Center preoccupies Mr. Grant, and Mr. Grant claims he’s worried about traffic affecting the nearby New Horizons Church.

Mrs. Busby allows public statements, which Yusuf thinks is unfair. Mr. Parker and Miss Terrance stand by the Muslim community, but Mrs. Geller, one of Abba’s regular customers, says Muslim people don’t belong in Frey. Amma tells Aleena not to listen to the “hate”—people only repeat what they hear on TV. Amma speaks, affirming her roots in Frey and Texas and the decency of the Muslim families who live there. Mrs. Busby orders an informal vote, and Mr. Grant claims the majority don’t want the mosque built, but Mrs. Busby corrects him—only 21 out of 67 people voted against the Islamic Center.