What does the book burning represent in the opening chapter of the book, Internment: A Novel?

The book burning the community stages at the start of the novel symbolizes erasure of minority peoples, and dissenting voices. The election of a fascist president leads to a wave of Islamophobia, which infects the spirits of the nation. The book burning illustrates how the government has overtaken the minds of its people, systematically working to eliminate the identities and words of millions of its citizens. Among the books burned, are Ali Amin's poetry collections; Layla, therefore, has an immediate emotional response to the event, realizing how the fire is only the start of the government's attempt to erase her family, and families like hers.