Breaking Stereotypes

I don’t know about you, but when someone mentions the word fraternity, a group of devout, celibate young men is not the first image that springs to mind. For us in Britain, we’re flooded with images of privileged white men at Ivy League universities drinking away their degrees at parties with the ubiquitous red and blue Solo cups, but in America, something different is happening. In February this year, America’s first Muslim Fraternity was established at the University of Texas; I spoke to Ali Mahmoud, the President of Alpha Lambda Mu (or Alif Laam Meem) to find out all about it.

Seeking clarification first, due to my woeful lack of knowledge about the actual function of fraternities, Ali explained to me that, “The primary purpose of a fraternity is to unite these men as brothers under a specific cause, whether it be social, for business, or for honours.” However, the reputation of fraternities changed in the 20th century, when fraternities became known for “excessive drinking, partying and hazing,” referring to the now notorious practice of rituals that abuse or humiliate pledges (people seeking to join a fraternity or sorority). Ali thinks that this image, along with “a sense of belonging and connections to professionals,” is the reason that young men typically join fraternities.

So, if the idea of a fraternity is so negatively charged, I wondered what prompted his decision to establish a Muslim fraternity. Apparently, it all started out as a joke. According to Ali: “Many Muslims are almost afraid of the word ‘fraternity’ because of the stereotypes that come along with it that contradict Islam. Muslims aren’t supposed to drink, or have illicit relations before marriage, for example, so coming up with the idea of a Muslim fraternity seemed heretical.” As they developed the idea, they began to realise that they were institutionalising a solution to a problem in the Muslim male college life, “we were filling a void.” They understood that many Muslim men felt that they either had to compromise their social life in order to live by the values of Islam, or compromise the values of Islam in order to have a social life. Ali believed a balance was achievable, and that was the path the establishment of Alpha Lambda Mu was trying to pave.

They created the fraternity, based on the principles of Islam “mercy, compassion, justice, integrity, honesty, unity, love, and sincerity” in order to prove that a modern Muslim college student could live as a dignified, respectable man and still have an organic college experience. However, Ali is aware of the challenge of this task; “It’s going to take knowledge, work, and dedication – all propelled by the force of brotherhood.” They hope that as a result of their fraternity, their members – “young, self-actualised Muslim men” will be servants to their families and every aspect of their greater community, “be it Muslims, non-Muslims, or even the environment.” Ali believes that: “Muslims are supposed to bring benefit and prevent harm to everyone and anything. Not just Muslims.”

Alpha Lambda Mu has attracted some criticism for their appropriation of exclusivist ideals that were an oppressive mechanism in the past, and some would argue, continue to be today. One viral blogpost on tumblr (Cornell Muslim Dissents) was particularly vocal in its attack. The author wondered why any “religious organization would strive to be modelled after a gendered institution with roots in white supremacy and elitism. I am all for Muslim unity and coalition, but we need to revolutionize what that looks like, rather than adopting discriminatory structures.” The author went on to question why ALM chose to become a male fraternity, rather than a gender inclusive one, believing that in its current form it “operates under misguided and sexist attitudes that the presence of women disturbs camaraderie.” He adds: “The issue of exclusivity within a religious setting is especially troubling since Islam preaches equality and inclusiveness. Admission into this organization requires one to be a “good” practicing Muslim and to fulfill arbitrary guidelines such as “refraining from partying, drinking and relationships.”

As a response, Ali says: “In order for us to craft this Muslim-American identity, we’re going to need to have a number of conversations along the way. It’s difficult to have this conversation when we’re constantly telling people what Islam isn’t instead of what it is due to pre-emptive attacks with hidden agendas. I think it’s time to calm down and have intelligent, open-minded conversations if we want to make any progress.”

Ali adds: “We’re taking what’s good from the fraternity model and leaving what’s bad.” They are leaving the culture of binge drinking and excessive partying, and the elitist mentality by choosing members based on that which is in their control. However, they want to embrace the brotherly bonds that the fraternity model creates and use that force to build men of integrity:

“We’re not looking for perfect Muslims. None of us are perfect. We’re more concerned with sincerity. We would rather take a humble struggler who understands his faults and believes that he can overcome his challenges by joining the fraternity, than someone who is too blinded by arrogance to see any room for self-improvement. We’re in this together. We’ll grow together, we’ll keep each other in check, and we’ll hopefully all come out as better people and better contributors to society.”

Reuters reports that there are 2.75 million Muslims living in the United States, and that 63 per cent were born outside of the country. The role of Islam in America is a notoriously divisive subject to some; in the wake of the Boston bombings, one hashtag trend stood out on Twitter that summed up a gut emotional response to the disaster: #IHopeItsNotAMuslim. Anti-Islamic sentiment was everywhere on social and traditional media even before any information was known about the perpetrator of the attack. Fox News leapt to demand that all Islamic students from countries around the world should be prevented from studying in America, with Bob Beckel declaring: “We know now. There has been enough research done. The bottom line: In the Muslim communities around the world, they do not like us. They recruit people from poor areas and they try to turn them into terrorists.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the predictable response of the right-wing media, the Islamic community was at the forefront of the response to the Boston attack, with Alpha Lamba Mu among those fund-raising for the victims. Islam is often unfairly represented in the press, and the fraternity’s actions don’t fit the traditional narrative that is imposed upon Muslim youth.

In such a seemingly hostile environment that so often situates Muslims and Americans as oppositional others, I asked Ali whether he thought that Alpha Lambda Mu was a step towards the further integration of Muslims into America: “Absolutely not.” He went on to explain: “We say that because we cannot integrate or assimilate into a society that we’re already a part of.” He couldn’t explain in such a short time the “rich and untold story of Muslim history in America,” but illustrated it with his own story. “I personally grew in Plano, Texas. I went to public school, I loved Dragon Ball Z and Spongebob, I played Xbox Live all the time with my friends who weren’t Muslim, and I regrettably ate too much fast food. I’m a proud American Muslim, and I see no contradiction of those two titles. Islam is my moral compass that guides every aspect of my life, but it also leaves room for our cultural experiences.”

With that in mind, I wondered whether an exclusively Islamic environment was an appropriate experience for young Muslims who would inevitably have to live in a predominantly non-Muslim environment upon graduation. “We’re hoping to avoid a sheltered experience for that reason exactly. We want our members to be contributors to society. Yes, we will have our sessions that are private, but everyone needs private moments of self-reflection and self-evaluation to improve.” Their goal is to learn in private, but then go out and spread good, either collectively or individually, in as many ways as possible.

Something that Ali speaks particularly eloquently on is the interesting position of being a Muslim in modern America. I had asked him whether he considered his fraternity to be a modern or a traditional organisation, to which he responded: “One of the beautiful things about Islam is that it is a religion that is meant to fit different times and different places. It worked in 7th century Arabia, but it also worked in 8th century Spain. Yes, there are core values that do not change regardless of where the religion is established, but there is room for flexibility. An exciting challenge we have as young Muslims in the United States is figuring out how Islam fits in 21st century America. We can only do this with a strong understanding of the religious tradition and a strong understanding of the cultural reality of our day. The synthesis of the two is indeed Islam itself, and lacking in either understanding calls for recalibration. The goal is balance.”

What initially drew my attention to Alpha Lambda Mu was a photo of its members protesting Domestic Violence, holding signs that proclaimed “Muslims Say No to Domestic Violence” and “Muslims Say Yes to Women’s Rights” at the Men’s Rally Against Domestic Violence in Dallas in March.

With so few Muslim role models in modern America and western popular culture, I asked whether they felt pressured to be representative of all young Muslims in America. “We definitely do feel the pressure with all of the attention we’ve been getting, and we pray that we can live up to our goals and represent Islam and young Muslims in America as best as possible. However, we’re confident that if we maintain our vision and simply try our best to contribute to our society, our actions will speak for themselves.”

I was curious to find out how they’d been received in their wider community, Texas – to the uninitiated – seems like an odd place for a Muslim fraternity to establish itself, but Ali was quick to assure me otherwise: “The amount of love we’ve been getting from all around the world has been extremely heart-warming. It definitely eclipses the negativity that Muslims have received and gives us hope for a brighter future of tolerance, understanding, peace, and love for each other.”

I left the conversation with a strange sense of hope about the future of Alpha Lambda Mu and Islam as a whole in America. It is obviously a country with a lot of internal fractures, but it seems like the accusations that have been placed against Alpha Lambda Mu are ill-thought out.

They are attempting to balance a difficult line between a secular national identity, and their religious beliefs, and with identity crises fast becoming a feature of the modern teenager, creating a safe environment for Muslims to hold onto their beliefs without becoming ostracised from the wider community seems like a positive solution to a difficult dilemma. As Ali himself said: “We hope that after all is said and done, we will have a strong group of guys who will stand up for social justice, for the needy, and for their societies just as the religion calls them to do.”