YOUTHS RETURN TO ISLAM
GROUP WAGES WAR ON STEREOTYPING
By Lisa Fernandez
Mercury News
Posted on Sat, Sep. 10, 2005

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/12610218.htm

Huda Shreim used to be a bad girl: Cutting class,
fighting, lying, scrawling graffiti. Today, the
19-year-old Jordanian immigrant prays five times a day
and covers herself from head to toe, following the
Islamic mandate to dress modestly. She's easy to spot
in a full-length tie-dyed pink abaya robe and matching
head covering as she stops in at Starbucks or Barnes &
Noble in Fremont, where she lives.

Shreim is a member of a new wave of Muslim youth in
Silicon Valley, and elsewhere, who are breaking with
their secular upbringing and becoming more devout. In
many ways, the phenomenon is nothing new or unique to
being a Muslim. But this group is special in that
their desire to become more observant intensified
after Sept. 11. Their motivation? To show the world
that they can be religious Muslims, dress
traditionally and not be terrorists.

Surprisingly, these young people say that putting on
austere-looking garb from Saudi Arabia is a very
American thing to do.

``These kids are saying, `I was born in America, and
the Constitution says that I can practice my religion,
and my religion says I must dress this way,' '' said
Yvone Haddad, a Georgetown University professor who
studies Muslims in the West. ``Though one option is to
just go into hiding and `be like us,' these kids are
saying, `No.' ''

Shreim and other newfound Islamic enthusiasts know
their highly distinctive clothing is an invitation for
others to ask about their backgrounds -- and they
welcome the challenge. They also realize their
appearance can be a magnet for verbal abuse and
violence.

Haddad likens the post-Sept. 11 trend to the Black
Power movement, when young African-Americans embraced
their cultural identity most visibly, by sporting
large Afros.

``Islam is beautiful,'' Haddad said, playing off
``Black is beautiful,'' the civil rights era slogan.
``Women who have never put on the veil are now putting
it on. They are taking on the burden of showing the
world that Islam is not terrorism.''

There's no way to document how many young Muslims are
becoming more observant, but scholars and Islamic
leaders say a significant number are closely studying
the Koran for answers.

Nadia Roumani, a researcher for the University of
Southern California's Center for Religion and Civic
Culture, has found that Sept. 11 caused a number of
Muslims, who previously didn't know much about their
own background or faith, to ``redefine their religion
and rearticulate it.'' In some cases, she said, that
meant ``exercising their faith in a more outward
manner.''

Many previously non-practicing Muslims re-energize
their interest by taking classes. In 2003, the
AlMaghrib Institute (of Islamic Studies) started
teaching 81 students in three cities. Today, the
program has 2,800 students in 14 cities, including
those in classes at San Jose State University and
Fremont's Ohlone College. About one-third of these
students, discovering new depth in their faith later
in life, are loosely considered reborn
fundamentalists, said the institute's manager, Irtiza
Hasan.

``There was an increased desire for Muslims to learn
more about their own religion after 9/11,'' Hasan
said. ``They didn't know a lot of the deeper stuff,
and they want to be able to answer others.''

Shreim's new religious insights and her garb -- which
includes a colorful assortment of full-length robes to
cover her jeans and flip-flops -- caused some initial
grief for her family. Now, her parents are proud and
have become more observant themselves.

``You might find this surprising,'' said her father,
Jalal Shreim. ``But you can be more Muslim in the
United States than in so-called Islamic countries.
There is more freedom here.''

Parental concern about possible abuse for their Muslim
children turning super religious is common.

Omair Ali, 28, of San Jose said his parents have
stopped ``freaking out'' about his spiritual journey,
but they are far from being completely supportive.

Before Sept. 11, the man known as Disco Omair, and DJ
Iceberg described himself as a ``party animal'' with
orange-frosted spiked hair. But after the terrorist
attacks, he wanted do to something to defend his faith
against false stereotypes. ``First and foremost,'' he
said. ``I knew that I would have to reform and purify
myself before telling the world about Islam.''

On his radio show at San Jose State University, Ali
discussed the richness of Islamic art, rules of
marriage, roles of women -- anything he could to
expand the outside world's limited knowledge of a
faith associated with suicide bombers. Now, he hosts a
weekly Islamic-topic show called ``MeccaOne'' on
KSJS-FM (90.5) and runs a Web site for Zaytuna
Institute, an internationally renowned Muslim academy
in Hayward.

But he said his parents -- immigrants from India and
Pakistan -- saw him growing a long beard and donning a
kufi cap, and feared he'd become a ``lazy bum, praying
all day,'' or worse, head off to Afghanistan to fight
with the Taliban and get captured by the FBI.

``They wanted me to work in the corporate world,'' he
said. ``That was their American dream.''

But for Ali and Shreim, their American vision involves
expressing themselves in a free society as
God-conscious Muslims.

Their choice is not without struggle. Four years ago,
exactly on Sept. 11, just hours after the attacks,
Shreim ventured out of the house wearing a dramatic
black abaya and veil from Saudi Arabia for the first
time. That day, she got her share of hateful looks and
taunting. And even now, she gets an odd stare, or
someone will plead with her to convert to
Christianity.

``But this doesn't make me feel weaker, only
stronger,'' Shreim said. ``One woman came up to me and
said, `This is America. You don't have to do this.' I
said, `I do this because I want to.' ''
Contact Lisa Fernandez at lfernandez@...
or (510) 790-7313.
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More on Hijab at:
http://www.islamawareness.net/Hijab/




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