Immigrant teens form friendships across religious lines through shared family traditionalism

Evidence

Gaby is from Ecuador, and Nicky is from Azerbaijan. Befriending Nicky was easy and obvious. They both came from Muslim backgrounds and shared a lot of similar stories and values. And Rasha got close to Gaby because both of their families were traditional. They were talking about boys one day, and Rasha told Gaby that she wasn’t allowed to date. “Yeah.” Gaby nodded out of Catholic correspondence. “Neither am I.” Rasha looked at her with disbelief. “You’re not even Arab!” she said. “Or Muslim!” — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 79

Categorization

• SEED: Possible angle: interfaith immigrant friendship as a more common everyday reality than political discourse suggests.