A powerful true story about a Muslim doctor's service to small-town
America and the hope of overcoming our country's climate of hostility
and fear.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 2013, Ayaz Virji left a comfortable job at an East Coast hospital and
moved to a town of 1,400 in Minnesota, feeling called to address the
shortage of doctors in rural America. But in 2016, this decision was
tested when the reliably blue, working-class county swung for Donald
Trump. Virji watched in horror as his children faced anti-Muslim remarks
at school and some of his most loyal patients began questioning whether
he belonged in the community.
Virji wanted out. But in 2017, just as he was lining up a job in Dubai,
a local pastor invited him to speak at her church and address
misconceptions about what Muslims practice and believe. That invitation
has grown into a well-attended lecture series that has changed hearts
and minds across the state, while giving Virji a new vocation that he
never would have expected.
In Love Thy Neighbor, Virji relates this story in a gripping,
unforgettable narrative that shows the human consequences of our toxic
politics, the power of faith and personal conviction, and the potential
for a renewal of understanding in America's heartland.
