Plot Summary

Mahmud Nasir lives in a London suburb with his pretty wife Saamiya and their two children, Rashid and Nabi. His son plans to marry Uzma, the stepdaughter of Egyptian-born Arshad Al-Masri, a so-called 'Hate Cleric' from Waziristan, Pakistan. Mahmud is not exactly a devout Muslim: he drinks alcohol and does not pray five times, but does agree that he will appease Arshad, without whose approval the marriage cannot take place. Shortly thereafter, while going over his recently deceased-mother's documents, Mahmud discovers that he was adopted, his birth parents were Jewish, and his name is actually Solly Shimshillewitz. He conceals this information from his family, and with help from his neighbor Leonard Goldberg, tries to understand the Jews and their religion. He even locates his birth father, who is on his deathbed in a nursing home. Mahmud does not know that Arshad has been checking into his background, has videotaped him setting fire to a Jewish cap during a protest, and has already approved of him, despite his letter to the media about 'moderate Muslims'. But on the day of the meeting with Arshad and Uzma, - Mahmud finds his life drastically changed when the Police will attend to arrest him, and he is forced to publicly proclaim that he is Jewish--a move that will not only alienate him from his family but also from both the Jewish and Muslim communities.—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)