Prayers for the Assassin is a political thriller, and a work of speculative fiction, written by American crime writer Robert Ferrigno. The story is set in 2040, after economic strife and a pair of nuclear attacks have led to civil war, causing the United States to split into two hostile and competing nations: one a moderate Islamic republic with its capital in Seattle, the other a breakaway Christian Bible Belt built on the ashes of the former Confederacy and with its capital in Atlanta.
The hardcover edition of Prayers for the Assassin was published in the United States in February 2006 by Charles Scribner's Sons.
Plot summary
The book starts off during the second American Civil War with a Muslim soldier dying in 2017, at the battle of Newark. Flash forward to the Super Bowl in 2042 in Seattle, the capital 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 Muslim and ex-Fedayeen shadow warrior. 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. Thomas "Redbeard" Dougan, Sarah's uncle, dies in the aftermath.
At the epilogue, Rakkim is in a mosque, performing his salat, or ritual prayer. There is a final showdown between Darwin, the "evil" assassin and Rakkim, with both of them almost dying. Rakkim finishes the showdown by killing Darwin with a knife throw to the face, but the rest of the ending sets up the conditions for the sequel.
The New America
After nuclear suitcase bombs completely destroy New York City and Washington D.C. and a dirty bomb irradiates Mecca the United States is split into four pieces. The Islamic Republic comprises the west coast, southwest, and most of the Midwest. After the bomb attacks were revealed to have been done by Israeli agents and many celebrity conversions (including country star "Shania X") a large proportion of the country converted to Islam. The new country was founded as a beacon of light, but has failed to live up. Civil liberties are severely curtailed with the first and second amendments removed and a Wahabi/Talibanesque religious police called the Black Robes gaining more and more power.
Jews (blamed for the destruction of Washington and New York) are ostracized and Catholics have taken the role of second class citizens. The roads are falling apart, satellite communications are often down, and the I.R. lacks scientific growth, living off excess technology stored by the former United States. The U.S. military has advanced little, with modern technology the best it can produce, the main reason that the two main power countries Russia and China avoid an attack is the elite training of the Fedayeen corps. The Fedayeen are essentially the guards of the republic, mostly made up of converts and veterans of the civil war. They are loyal to the democratic Islamic government though they are constantly courted by the extremist Black Robes whose police force are bitter rivals of the Fedeyeen. Many landmarks and warships were renamed after Islamic figures, the best example being the renamed the USS Osama bin Laden or Seattle's football facility is called Khomeini Stadium. It is mentioned that the new government attempted to destroy Mount Rushmore, but gave up due to the sheer size of the monument.