ABSTRACT
“Do you think people [of Riverside Mosque] will stay together?” I asked Abe, a second-generation Syrian-American. Her answer was a firm, “Yes.” Reaffirmed in her faith by putting on hijab as an adult, Abe believes that her religion can be culture-free and thus brings together people who are divided along ethnic lines. She said,
I have friends of different backgrounds. I have Syrian friends, and I also have Pakistani friends. Friendship is not based on culture but religion. I made all my friends in this mosque. I am proud of the diversity in our masjid. People sometimes quarrel, but we will stay together.
