Young U.S. Muslims Strive for Harmony

Young U.S. Muslims Strive for Harmony: "Young U.S. Muslims Strive for Harmony
9/11 Spurred Action, Helped Define Beliefs

By Tara Bahrampour
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 4, 2006; A01

Standing in the small, fluorescent-lighted room that served as George Washington University's Muslim prayer area, Amin Al-Sarraf pointed to the six-foot-high plastic partition dividing the space.

It had been a point of contention at the university's Muslim Students' Association. Some members thought the partition, common in mosques to separate men and women when they pray, was a necessary part of their religion; others disagreed, saying women had trouble hearing the imam.

'Some see it like the Great Wall of China in the middle of the room,' Al-Sarraf explained, adding that there was a fear 'freshmen will get a bad taste in their mouth -- like this is how the MSA's going to be.'

Al-Sarraf didn't want to alienate anyone. In his post last year as president of the Islamic Alliance for Justice, a political group under the umbrella of the MSA, he'd heard of Muslim groups at other universities making students feel excluded for not dressing a certain way, for example. Perhaps, he mused aloud, his MSA could come to a compromise: Keep the partition, but make it shorter."