Prayers for the Assassin
Robert Ferrigno
 The book starts off during the second American Civil War between the Islamic States and the seceding Bible Belt, with a Muslim soldier dying in 2017 at the battle of Newark, after a bloody battle with Bible Belt paramilitaries that are attempting to capture the city. Flash forward to the Super Bowl in 2042 in Seattle, the capitol of the new Islamic Republic, the majority of whose inhabitants have converted to Islam. The nation's culture is a fusion of traditional American and Islamic: the Super Bowl is still played, but the cheerleaders are sword-wielding men and the participants break at half-time for afternoon prayers. As the story opens, the country is facing a crisis, with competing political and religious factions threatening to destroy the fragile peace that exists within the Islamic States of America. At the same time, behind the scenes, a messianic figure known as the Wise Old One contrives to seize power for himself, and fulfill the ancient prophecy of the restoration of the Caliphate. The story's protagonist is Rakkim Epps, a Fedayeen warrior who is devoted to his cause, even if he has lost his faith. Epps must risk everything to save the life of Sarah Dougan, the young historian he loves. It becomes known that it was in fact Muslim extremists who launched the attacks, including the dirty bomb in Mecca. A fourth, more powerful bomb (later found in China) was scheduled for detonation but the small group of Muslim extremists assigned the task succumbed to radiation poisoning before it could be put into play. Once the truth was exposed, the parties stepped back from the brink and sought to find a common ground from which to start a more trusting, more open-minded dialog. There is a final showdown between Darwin, the "evil" assassin and Rakkim in which Darwin is slain via a knife throw to the face, but the remainder of the ending sets up conditions for a possible sequel.