America is being introduced to its first Muslim fraternity at the University of Texas. The Alpha Lambda Mu fraternity, known in Arabic as Alif Laam Meem, values prayer and charity work in place of drunken debauchery, which is highly forbidden.
Instead of partying, the frat brothers regularly get together to discuss religion, community service and social issues.
One of their current initiatives is driving around the local area handing out sandwiches to homeless people.
And instead of excessive alcoholic consumption, their initiation process requires simply handing over $100 to be donated to charity.
The fraternity is distinguished not by red solo cups, but by traditional bright red kufi caps.
Alif Laaem Meem was founded by Ali Mahmoud shortly after he arrived as a freshman at UT Dallas, Daily Mail reports.
When a friend of his told him he was considering joining a fraternity to make friends, meet girls and make job connections, Ali began to think about how Muslims have constantly been excluded from Greek life all across the country.
“The idea of a Muslim fraternity seemed heretical,” he told the Independent, but then he realized that a fraternity might be the best way to bring fellow religious Muslims together.
Another part of his mission is to show that fraternities do not always have to be decadent environments.
“Muslims have been having a hard time recently trying to understand what their role in society is, so to embrace this very traditional American organization is a symbolic move,’”he told the New York Daily News.
Ali also points out that most of the frat members are natural-born Americans who are already very familiar with mainstream American culture.
“I personally grew up in Plano, Texas,” he said. “I went to public school, 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.”
He goes on to explain that, because most of the members of Alif Laam Meem have grown up in conservative households that denounce drinking and sex, he and his friends do not believe they are missing out on anything when they refuse to party like the standard American Greek organization.
“Most of us have grown up in families where that atmosphere of partying and drinking is not the norm,” he said. “And we think that behavior of womanizing and excessive drinking is un-gentlemanlike.”
Some of the activities recently carried out by Alif Laam Meem include protesting domestic violence and raising money for victims of the Boston bombings.
Via Daily Mail, Photo courtesy Facebook Alif Laam Meem
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