LAS VEGAS -- "Less is more" proved the formula for success at this February's MAGIC, as spectacle took a backseat to subdued fashion.

The apparel shown at the Las Vegas Convention Center was more low-key than in the previous few years but still revealed major trends across men's, women's and children's wear for fall 2005.

There were a number of exceptionally strong design themes on the floor, but unlike the flash of the past few shows, there was a newfound focus on basic, salable product.

While celebrity brands still had a presence--most notably a new women's line from Jessica Simpson--the large number of stars trying to produce the next Scan Jean have created a glut, targeting already oversaturated department and specialty stores. The urban, skate and streetwear areas were also relatively quiet. Instead, the offering for fall 2005 builds on uptrending silhouettes and fabrications from the last back-to-school season.

Within each category, there was a standout trend. For instance, in men's dress and casual wear, the retailers walking the floor could not stop talking about the strong wovens cycle in tops.

"Wovens are exceptionally strong; this may be the strongest men's woven tops cycle in the past 10 or 15 years," said Jim Cutright, a buyer for Bealls Outlet.

While there is a broad range of styles that are expected to sell well in both men's and young men's apparel, there was one pattern than stood out above all--plaid. All types of plaids, from classic patterns to '80s windowpane checks, were out in force, expected to take market share from stripes across the marketplace.

"While stripes still have their place in the market, the consumer is ready for plaid patterns, which will take visual interest to the next level," said Dave Matsudaira, a Gottschalks buyer.

Even traditionally bottoms-driven companies are going into tops. Just in time to meet demand for wovens, VF Jeanswear is producing new tops for fall, to pair with its women's Riders and men's Wrangler jeans.

"The timing is right to introduce Riders and Wrangler tops; we are getting a strong retailer reaction to overall lifestyle merchandising for fall 2005," said Angelo LaGrega, president of VF Jeanswear's mass-market division.

Technology also continues to be a driver in men's wear, so much so that companies are entering in non-traditional categories.

"We are introducing performance underwear with wicking properties at the waistband ... and [it's] getting a tremendous reaction at the show," said Jim Noble, senior vp at Dickies.

While wovens are on top in men's for fall, jeans are key in young men's bottoms.

"Denim is an overwhelming trend in young men's, especially in destructed fabrics.... If you are in young men's and denim is not your primary focus for fall, you have definitely got a problem," said Claudia Heller, a buyer at Kohl's.

This worn look is expected to rule denim departments in women's and children's as well this fall, with cleaned up silhouettes taking over into spring 2006. Denim jeans, skirts and jackets remained central to the merchandise offering in juniors and misses. Women's tops are still driven by knits into next fall, with brands like C&C California and American Apparel leading the way.

In both women's and men's wear, licensed apparel is still a major trend. Warner Bros. created some buzz with its expanding array of fashion-driven merchandise, including items based on the upcoming "Batman Begins." Disney also made waves with an innovative booth featuring a perpetual runway show of mannequins on a conveyor belt, featuring different fashions each day of the show.

"We had an offer to buy our booth first thing at the show, but there is definitely ... strong interest from buyers at all levels of the market for licensed apparel," said Andrew Georgiou, director, retail marketing, North American softlines at Disney Consumer Products.

Licensed apparel from Sesame Workshop and Nickelodeon remain strong in children's, and Hanes is gearing up to be the exclusive purveyor of Marvel licensed underwear. In general, girls' and boys' fashions continue to steer toward classic looks rather than miniaturized versions of juniors' and young men's merchandise. For example, Lollytogs-owned Healthtex is focused on traditional tops and bottoms silhouettes with an emphasis on cute appliques and patterns.

The merchandise on exhibit at the show pointed toward one conclusion: fall 2005 is about getting back to basics. After a few tough years when apparel makers had to produce fashion that screamed for attention, vendors have found that a whisper of design interest is going a long way toward attracting buyers.

In the summer of 1985 the National Conference of Catholic Bishops held a closed meeting at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., a major center of the Order of St. Benedict in the United States, to address the problem of sexual abuse of children by clergy. The bishops were provided with a confidential report -- a copy of which INSIGHT has obtained -- that not only acknowledged a "problem" but laid out plans to cope with it by, among other things, increasing specialized sex-therapy clinics for priests.

It is an ironic twist in view of recent news stories about pedophilia and homosexuality among Catholic clergy that this meeting of American bishops 16 years ago somehow managed to overlook alleged wrongdoing at the very meeting place of the conclave. INSIGHT has learned that nearly a dozen of the abbey's Benedictine monks since have been accused of sexually abusing minors or adults in their spiritual care. Of these, at least eight are known to have confessed to such acts.

St. John's is a nationally known center of liturgical revolution, redirecting Catholic liturgy away from worship of a transcendent God to community-centered participation. Thousands of Catholic parishes use its manuals weekly.

An investigation by this magazine suggests that nearly two dozen cases have been settled privately by the Roman Catholic Church there and that, according to victims, parents, lawyers and priests, there are likely to be more cases. These are cases that, as with the scandals in New York and Boston, could unfold into a worse nightmare than currently even imagined. Meanwhile, ironically, the document given to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops so many years ago could open the floodgates against the church for its failure to protect children and other sexual innocents entrusted to the care of its clergy by a system that was warned but failed to deal rigorously with the widespread problem of sexual predators.

As INSIGHT goes to press, the Vatican has responded to a media frenzy by summoning the entire conference of American bishops to Rome for a meeting with Pope John Paul II. But even now little attention is being paid to the victims and the ordeals they have suffered for years. Here, in an exclusive report, Insight looks at the personal stories and allegations of sexual exploitation at the hands of just one priest, the Rev. Richard Eckroth, a veteran clergyman accused of molesting both little boys and young girls over many years.

This is their story -- the story of youngsters called the "Sauna Kids." It developed between 1971 and 1976 when "Father Richard" invited scores of children in groups of four to six for weekends at a remote log cabin on Lake Swensen near Bemidji, Minn., owned by St. John's Abbey. These youngsters ranged in age from 7 to 13. They tell INSIGHT they saw a happy time turn into the nightmare of a life dealing with painful memories of what occurred at the abbey's cabin where, they claim, they suffered abuse at the hands of their trusted priest. While Father Richard never has admitted in public to any of the allegations of sexual abuse brought against him, INSIGHT has obtained confidential medical records maintained by the abbey in which church-run therapy clinic doctors said that he engaged in inappropriate touching of children and encouraged them inappropriately to touch him.

Medical teams reported to the head of the abbey that they could not prove or get the cleric to admit the overt allegations. But they found that details of at least two internally reported incidents of alleged sexual abuse by Father Richard were so strikingly similar that "We believe there is a strong possibility that Father Eckroth has engaged in sexually inappropriate contact with these people." The recommendation was that Father Eckroth have "no unsupervised contact with minors" -- even after a stay of several months at one of the half-dozen "sex" clinics run by the Catholic church.

Among victims willing to go on the record about molestation charges against this monk, the alleged modus operandi of Father Richard is remarkably consistent. For example, according to one of the Sauna Kids, much of the discussion during the three-hour drive to the log cabin revolved around the priest's explanation about the sauna, a building detached from the main cabin where the clergyman insisted on nudity.

"On the drive to the cabin," explains Betsy Westerhoff, "Father Richard told us we'd be taking a sauna, and he said it would be fun -- the best thing we'd be doing up there -- and afterward we'd go swimming in the lake. I was 11 years old and didn't even know what a sauna was, but he told us that we had to be naked in the sauna."

Westerhoff says, "That bothered my sister and me, and we asked if we could wear our swimsuits. Father Richard told us that we couldn't wear our suits because it gets too hot and the metal clasps on the back of the suits could burn us. He said that he had `bands' at the cabin that we could wrap around us. I remember thinking at the time that the only `band' I knew of was a rubber band and I couldn't imagine how that would cover us. When we got to the cabin it turned out that the `bands' were strips of cloth that weren't long enough to fit around our chests. I wore my bathing suit but left the clasps unhooked so I wouldn't get burned. I remember swimming in the lake afterward, and one of the other girls was naked and she was diving off of Father Richard's shoulders. I remember feeling ashamed that some of the kids didn't have their clothes on."

In this day and time the common consumer has to be very careful when purchasing high prices handbags. Companies are betting high stacks money that the common consumer will not recognize handbag reproductions. They also know that most consumers will not know what to look for when evaluating if a handbag is fake or the real deal (authentic). Education is key, so here I will outline a few key things to look for when evaluating a Juicy Couture handbag.

First of all evaluate the place that you are purchasing from. For the most part you will not find a fake name brand handbag from a store like Nordstrom’s. Stores like these are very careful about having their names tarnished by fake merchandise. They cater to people that are willing to pay full price for authentic merchandise and they don’t want to scare that type of customer away. So, if you're will to pay full price and want to take the guess work out of all of this just go to Nordstrom’s or a store like it in your area. Guess work done.

But if you’re not willing to pay full price and you want to find deals then my second choice would be auction site. The two auction sites that come to my mind are eBay.com or overstock.com. Both have sellers that sell authentic and well as fake Juicy Couture handbags. Let’s start from the top.

Evaluate the seller. EBay makes evaluating sellers kind of easy. First of all you want to find sellers that have a positive track record. Don’t buy from sellers that don’t have any feedback or very little feedback. You will not be able to find out from these sellers if their merchandise is authentic, unless you don’t care if it is authentic or not. But I think you would not be reading this if you did not care. You want to dig into the feedback. If the seller has any negative feedback what were the comments. Did anyone complain that the merchandise if fake. If you find even one comment stating this leave this seller alone.

Second, ask for pictures of the merchandise, most of the time you will not be able to see necessary signs from the initial pictures posted on eBay. So ask the seller to see close up pictures. Most sellers would be glad to show off their merchandise and will take close up pictures for you. These are the kind of sellers that you are looking for. They have a keen eye for customer service. If the seller is unwilling to provide the pictures or does not even return you email. Once again leave this seller alone. He/she is not worth the time and agony that may be associated with the purchasing.

Once you have the pictures it is time to evaluate the bag itself. First, check out the leather. A brand new Juicy Couture handbag has dark leather that is not as shinny. Also, because this is a high class bag Juicy Couture does not use low grade leather. Low grade leather is usually ruff and thicker. The leather used for Juicy Couture handbags will be soft and thinner.

Next, take a look at the stitching. Does the stitching look like it has been rushed or out of place. Most fake handbag manufactures don’t take the necessary time to put out a quality product and it usually shows in the stitching.

Now, take a look inside. How does the inside feel? First, the inside should be made out of cotton. Not any of these synthetic materials. Is the fabric smooth to the touch and flexible? Once again, fake distributors will not pay for quality material. Quality material will take dollars out of their pockets. So, if the material inside of the purse is ruff and is made with polyester and stiff, it is definitely a fake Juicy Couture handbag.

I hope I was also to give you a short education in what to look for when purchasing a authentic Juicy Couture handbag.

Buying a new robe can be confusing when you start looking at all the different styles, fabrics and colors of robes available in the marketplace. Some of these include kimono style robes, shower wraps, spa robes, hooded robes, and beach wraps. The majority of these shower wraps and robes are available in 100% terry cotton fabric. Other common fabrics that you will notice are velour, bamboo and cotton, Turkish cotton or cotton and polyester combinations, fleece, polyester fabrics, as well as 100% Organic Cotton.

What are some of the bathrobe styles available?

Kimono style robe
Kimono style robes are robes made with a raglan style of sleeve. This type of robe offers a bit more room in the shoulder area and often offers a looser fit. If you want a robe to wear over other clothing or pajamas, a kimono style robe is a good choice. Spa robe

Spa robes are short robes used in spa or in your own home spa. You will find that these robes are generally made from light weight fabrics like terry cotton or cotton/polyester blends. Spa robes are often used in combination with a spa wrap as both are easy to remove if you are having spa treatments or aesthetic services. A spa robe is very useful for covering your clothes when you are putting on makeup or doing your hair before you go to work or out for the evening. Many spa robes have matching accessories, spa slippers, hair turbans and travel bags.

Ballerina style robe
Ballerina style robes are short knee length robes which can be used to cover your clothes while putting on make-up or doing your hair. These light weight robes are often a cotton/polyester combination for wash and wear ease.

Hooded robes
Hooded robes tend to be heavier weight robes that are made from terry cotton or velour. The robes are often made using a heavier weight terry cotton fabric. These robes are usually full length with a hood attached that fully covers your head. Lighter weight versions are available as three quarter length robes, which end just below the knees.

Shower wraps
Shower wraps are form fitting terry cotton fabric that is designed to be worn after showers, bathing or while at the beach. Men’s shower wraps generally cover are area from the waist down to the knees. Women’s shower wraps are longer and cover from the bust line to the mid-thigh or knee area. Spa wraps are available for women fitting from waist to knee area and are worn along with a spa robe. The two piece set makes it easy to remove one piece for having spa treatments or services.

Beach wraps
Beach wraps or shower wraps are great little items for wearing on the beach or at the pool. Women’s shower wraps usually fasten under the arms and fall loosely along the body. These wraps are great to use a bathing cover-up or in place of a towel. Beach wraps for children are often short robes which can be used to cover-up after swimming.

What fabrics are used for making robes?

Robes are most frequently made from 100% Terry Cotton. Terry Cotton is soft and absorbent wicking moisture away from your body. Often you will see terry cotton combined with bamboo to create robes with a soft and silky feeling or with polyester to offer easy care. Velour robes can usually made of cotton velour fabric or with polyester fibers. The cotton velour robe will be decorative and feel smooth against your skin. The polyester fabrics, like fleece, make the robe feel wonderfully soft and silky against your skin.

There are few things that raise the ire of retailers more than the words "mark down." That's precisely the phrase they are trying to eliminate from the Back-to-School season by keeping heavy-weight items off the racks until the cooler months of September and October even as they introduce extended summer offerings.

While mass--and most other--retailers have been grappling with timing issues for years, it appears that during 2000 an across-the-board change will be seen throughout the industry.

"Over the past few years, we have moved deeper into the season with light weight clothes, and we have pushed back our delivery of the heavier weight goods we traditionally got in July to September," says Skip Chustz, senior vice president and general merchandising manager of ShopKo.
We're extending the [summer] season with lighter weight fashion," says Jim Sparks, senior vice president and general merchandising manager of Bradlees. "You're going to see shorts and T-shirts in our brochure during the fall. We may change the colors, but kids want to wear the same things to school they wore earlier in the year."

"It's really like we're introducing a second season," says Sandy Sansavera, senior vice president and general merchandising manager at Ames.

"While you want to lower the risk of markdowns for fall, you're running the risk that you'll have [an abundance of shorts] markdowns in September," Sansavera says. "That's where the management of supply chain becomes essential."
Retailers work closely with manufacturers, sharing category management numbers to better ensure that the right merchandise arrives in their stores at the right time.

"We get another shipment of shorts and tops, mostly knit, on June 1," says Chustz. "The merchandise that comes in then is done in fall color palettes."

Manufacturers are also adapting.

"We've had to hold off on sending out the fleece until August, so they get in the stores by September," says Morris Hidary, vice president of M. Hidary, which supplies national chains such as Wal-Mart and Kmart. "On top of that, we ship lighter weight goods later in the season. Essentially, by extending the season, it's become a buy-now, wear-now type of thing."

Of course, this does not mean consumers won't find heavier-weight items for Back-to-School; it's just that stores will have more polar fleece, denim, vests, tops and other heavier items in October than in July and August.

A significant challenge for retailers, however, will be training customers to understand the difference between the new late-season merchandise that is full priced versus the early-spring goods featured on markdown racks.

"We have trained our customers that shorts will go on sale in July and August. And here's a second introduction of shorts and other light weight clothes in June that will not be marked down [until fall]," says Sansavera. "The difference in styles for the extended season line is that tops will be in darker fall colors, and the shorts will include many of the successful treatments we're seeing on pants."

"The benefit from this is that we will hopefully have less mark downs. The danger is that it can be confusing to the customer. I think there will be some confusion about our store [signage] because not all our shorts will be marked down," says Sansavera. "The customer might say, well I'll just buy [the marked down] version because it's a better deal."

Retailers will have to make doubly sure the signs and markdowns in the store are properly designated, so the customer clearly sees the difference between the new late-summer line and the earlier marked-down line.

Although extending the season means summerwear will sell later into the year, fall fashion will begin to impact the racks by July and August, with darker color palettes and even more treatments. Denim will continue to play an important part of the transition to fall.

"Basic denim is starting to make a comeback, which would be good for us," says Sparks. "There's still a lot of treatments on the girls' side with the hippie-chick look sticking around. But we even see some of the five-pocket standards coming back in boys."

VF Jeanswear, which also handles the Riders label for girls, will be coming out with a five-pocket flare jeans for girls meant to bring back a late 60s feel.

In addition to extending the season, Starter, the once hugely popular department and sporting goods store label, is making its way onto the racks of the mass merchants for Back-to-School. It will begin to appear on the shelves of Wal-Mart and Kmart by the third quarter.

For years, retailers have been speculating that extending the summer season into Back-to-School would help alleviate the markdowns that accompanied selling heavy items like fleece in July and August. Will there in fact be fewer markdowns? Or will the confusion make it even worse?

"It's not 'a gimme'," says Sansavera. "It's not in the bag."

And exactly what's in the customer's bags when they walk out of the stores in August will show how successful retailers are at extending the season.

Compared with the last back-to-school season, sweet looks are now taking share from super-trendy styles in the children's wear market.

While miniaturized versions of the latest teen fashions worn by Britney Spears and the Olsen twins still have their place in tween sizes, the market has returned to traditional silhouettes and embellishments in girls' wear. Likewise, the streetwear and urban influences that are popular in bigger boys' sizes are becoming less so in toddler apparel and the smaller end of the 4-14 size range.
"Fall 2005 is about kids being kids again," said Stacy Bobroff, marketing director for Lollytogs Ltd. Lollytogs is relaunching the Healthtex brand, recently acquired from VF with that concept in mind, and the marketing push behind the apparel, as well as the apparel itself, is based on the theme of children at play--not pretending to be pop stars.

"The whole motto is 'grow slow;' [it's] about having kids stay kids as long as possible and dressing appropriately" added Lollytogs' school brand manager Gigi Wynn Gregersen.

Children's jeans wear producer VF also reflected a shift toward less tricked-up items in its 2005 fall line preview.

"While older boys and girls still want to look like their older siblings, styles are definitely toned down in smaller sizes," said Cessy Brown, marketing communications manager. While still fashionable, items reflect more subdued but still fashionable embellishments.
The cross-market expansion of traditional children's wear brands, in particular Gerber and Carters, also speaks to demand for kids-only clothes. Despite the success of designer boys' and girls' wear, not every parent cares to shell out $185 for a pair of Prada children's shoes, and Wal-Mart, Target and JCPenney continue to expand their assortments as a result.

Thursday, June 7 This weekend is the climax of Capital Pride , the annual festival for Washington's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. The highlight is Saturday's parade through Dupont Circle, but there are plenty of parties (official and unofficial) that take place around the main events. Tonight, for example, there are bachelor and bachelorette date auctions (at Remington's and RNR Bar & Lounge , respectively), but the highlight has to be a concert by Ari Gold at Cobalt . Not to be confused with the "Entourage" character, this Ari Gold is a Bronx-born R&B singer whose singles have hit the top 20 in the U.K. and received great reviews in both the Advocate and Billboard. Gold's albums contain a chart-friendly mix of R&B rhythms and pop melodies, but harder remixes of his tracks have also become staples at gay clubs in New York and Miami, so it'll be interesting to see which way his live performance will lean. Get there early, because Cobalt will fill up fast.

The Long Blondes hail from Sheffield, the same part of the U.K. as the Arctic Monkeys, and in some ways the band can be described as a female-fronted version of their massively hyped neighbors. Like the Monkeys, the Blondes play a distinctly British brand of snappy post-punk that details what it's like to be young and hip and British. Like all British bands, a barrage of singles preceded the group's debut, and while the irresistible "Lust in the Movies" and "Giddy Stratospheres" are indeed the standout tracks on full-length debut "Someone to Drive You Home," the Long Blondes prove they are more than a mere singles band. Nicole Atkins and the Sea and Five Four open tonight at the Rock and Roll Hotel , with DJs Trickster and Five-Year-Plan from post-punk DJ night We Fought the Big One playing tunes whenever there's not a band on stage.

Friday, June 8 Leo G. has been holding down the fort on XM Radio since the company began broadcasting in 2001. Although the channels have gone through various shakeups as XM has adapted to a shifting marketplace, Leo G.'s formula remains a winner: play mainstream hip-hop, but don't limit it to the narrow playlists found on urban terrestrial radio. Leo G.'s spot on channel Raw 66 is where you'll get that new Shop Boyz or whatever is currently capturing the bling zeitgeist, along with exclusive cuts from a Lupe Fiasco mixtape. Leo's throwing a birthday bash at Love tonight that aims to reach Hot 97 Summerjam heights. Papoose , Fat Joe and Dipset bring the New York street heat, the south will be well represented by Rick Ross , Lil Flip and David Banner , and Talib Kweli and Skillz provide the pure lyricist appeal. With a lineup that robust, hopefully the train of rappers pulls out of the station at least before 11 p.m.

Although RPM has successfully crossed their hip-hop over to the rock band circuit, this is much more than a jam band fronted by a rapper. The band sometimes approximates breakbeats live or segues into grooves not unlike Madeski, Martin & Wood while Raw Poetic's steady flow provides the rhythmic center. Heavy touring and Raw Poetic 's succesful stint on Rawkus Records as part of the group Panacea ensure a tight dynamic on Iota 's stage tonight.

It's been more than a decade since El-P stripped hip-hop down to an industrial, almost punk chassis with Company Flow and then built his Def Jux dynasty on a stable of abrasive, angsty and sometimes oddball rap groups. It's been a very successful ride but the Trent Reznor of hip-hop is still tortured. Fortunately that psychological state makes for some of the best menacing and dissonant material he's ever recorded on his most recent long player, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead." Even though the backpack army has shrunk and materialist nihilism still reigns in the glam-hop world, El-P proves why the underground is still relevent at the 9:30 club tonight.

Capital Pride events continue tonight, and we're betting that there will be plenty of packed houses from Shaw to Crystal City. BeBar is hosting one of its regular Madonna-themed parties with DJ Wes , a staple of Velvet Nation, spinning the Material Girl all night long. The Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance sponsors a meet-and-greet happy hour from 6 to 9 at Freddie's Beach Bar , proving that not all the worthwhile Pride events are close to Dupont Circle. Men and women can find parties tailored just to them: The boys can dance to DJ Alex Lauterstein at Apex , while the girls head for a dance party at Tom Tom .

A few years ago, Friday nights at Aroma were the best-kept open secret in town. DJ Dredd rocked a steady stream of Prince, Michael Jackson and Kurtis Blow to get people grooving, even if the "dance floor" held no more than 10 people. Bartenders Krishna and Lily formed one of the best cocktail-mixing tandems we've ever encountered, and the lounge attracted a great mix of Cleveland Park regulars and out-of-the-neighborhood regulars who came for martinis and great music. Then it all started to steadily fall off. Dredd departed to spin at other clubs and open his own restaurant, Vegetate, amid complaints about his paycheck, while Lily moved on to a full-time position at the Black Cat. DJ Madness stepped in to fill Dredd's spot, but he, too, left Aroma. As much as we love Krishna -- Fritz still swears he's one of the best mixologists in the city -- he can't hold down the night on his own. We're full of hope, though, because DJ Deep Sang has a new monthly at Aroma, and we really dig the mix of hip-hop and dancehall we've heard him spin during residences at Wonderland (Dirty Bombs, with DJ Meistro) and Selam (Solid Gold). Is he bringing Aroma back? Find out for yourself tonight. Deep Sang hits the decks at 10, but you'll want to get there early for a cocktail. Just ask your bartender what they recommend and take it from there.

For fitness instructor Mona Safiedine, teaching aerobics has recently become something she's had to work out with God. Last year, after deciding to wear the hijab, or Islamic head scarf, and follow her faith more closely, she knew her routine would have to change.


Now Safiedine confines her workouts to women-only gyms, in keeping with Islam's call for modesty. "I didn't feel right wearing tight clothes and teaching men at the same time," she says. And she has shunned pop music, citing an interpretation of Islamic law that forbids lyrics.

But beyond that, Safiedine, a 24-year-old Lebanese American, won't let anything stop her from carrying on with her six-day-a-week class schedule in everything from high-intensity kickboxing to yoga. "I wear the hijab when I enter the gym and take it off once I'm in," she explains. "Since men are not allowed, it's a safe zone for me."

In Dearborn, Michigan, the Arab-American hub where Safiedine grew up, her choice represents something of a trend among Arab Muslim women of her generation. Among those born in the United States to Arab immigrant parents, a movement to emphasize their Muslim identity is taking root.

"Everywhere I go, I am seeing girls covering right and left--even high school girls," says Safiedine, a graduate student involved in a religious pluralism project at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. "These are girls whose mothers don't even cover."

Although prayer had always been a part of Safiedine's life, other tenets of the faith had not--her friends joke that she used to throw a robe on over her mini skirt and pray before going to nightclubs--and she had long resisted the head scarf, considered mandatory by many observant Muslims.

Now she and others describe their decision to wear it as a journey of empowerment and spirituality. Yet it is also a journey they're embarking upon in a post-9/11 world, when Islam is looked upon with suspicion, even contempt.

Making a Place for Themselves

One in four Americans holds a negative view of Muslims, according to an October 2004 poll released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group based in Washington, D.C. Twenty-six percent of the 1,000 respondents reported a belief that Muslims teach violence and hatred; 27 percent said Muslims value human life less than others.

It helps little that nightly headline news from Iraq features terrorist beheadings and so-called "Islam experts" such as Bush appointee Daniel Pipes, board member at the U.S. Institute for Peace, incite fear with statements about U.S. Muslims' long-term designs to replace the Constitution with the Qur'an.

Such attitudes have motivated some young Arab Muslims to set the record straight about their maligned faith. Depicted as outsiders, they are attempting to reclaim their place in American society and, in the process, are forging a new Muslim-American identity.

"Today, many Muslims realize that it is not their Islamic identity but their American citizenship that is fragile," writes Muqtedar Khan, a fellow with the Michigan-based Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, in a 2003 New York Times editorial. Attacks on civil liberties, enshrined in such legislation as the PATRIOT Act and anti-terrorism measures, he adds, have served to marginalize and target Muslims as un-American.

The trend is perhaps most pronounced among women, because by wearing head scarves and long, concealing robes, they embody the Muslim presence in America.

"I feel a big responsibility on my shoulders, because now I'm a walking representative of Islam," says 22-year-old spoken-word poet Gihad Ali, who began veiling nearly two years ago after her mother died. "I knew it was going to be difficult following 9/11, but I thought, 'Fine, that's my test.'"

Ali, who was born and raised in Chicago, says she was tempted to put on the veil right after 9/11 to make a statement but felt that would be doing it for the wrong reasons. Instead, she waited until she could "cover for religious reasons" and now embraces her visibility as a Muslim as a way to dispel popular misconceptions.

One misconception is that veiled women are foreigners who do not speak English. While renewing her driver's license at the department of motor vehicles, Ali says the clerk behind the counter spoke to her in an exaggeratedly loud voice. "DO-YOU-WEAR-CONTACTS?" she asked.

"I don't know if she expected me to speak with an accent or have to use sign language," recalls Ali. But she knew her Islamic attire stood for something. "Just because I don't look like you and I dress differently doesn't mean I can't speak the same language," she says. "I have a job. I have family. I have friends and hobbies. The only difference is that I cover, and I have a different faith."

Ali has also made it a point to represent Muslim women on stage, where her fiery poems now include themes about Islamic women. "It's not just important for me but for all Muslim sisters that veil to let people know that we're not submissive, that we're not subordinate, that we're individuals," she says. She offers an impromptu line from one such poem: "When you look at me, see liberation, cause I'm not the product of some Osama-bin-Laden-Islamic-fundamentalist-type nation."

For fitness instructor Mona Safiedine, teaching aerobics has recently become something she's had to work out with God. Last year, after deciding to wear the hijab, or Islamic head scarf, and follow her faith more closely, she knew her routine would have to change.


Now Safiedine confines her workouts to women-only gyms, in keeping with Islam's call for modesty. "I didn't feel right wearing tight clothes and teaching men at the same time," she says. And she has shunned pop music, citing an interpretation of Islamic law that forbids lyrics.

But beyond that, Safiedine, a 24-year-old Lebanese American, won't let anything stop her from carrying on with her six-day-a-week class schedule in everything from high-intensity kickboxing to yoga. "I wear the hijab when I enter the gym and take it off once I'm in," she explains. "Since men are not allowed, it's a safe zone for me."

In Dearborn, Michigan, the Arab-American hub where Safiedine grew up, her choice represents something of a trend among Arab Muslim women of her generation. Among those born in the United States to Arab immigrant parents, a movement to emphasize their Muslim identity is taking root.

"Everywhere I go, I am seeing girls covering right and left--even high school girls," says Safiedine, a graduate student involved in a religious pluralism project at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. "These are girls whose mothers don't even cover."

Although prayer had always been a part of Safiedine's life, other tenets of the faith had not--her friends joke that she used to throw a robe on over her mini skirt and pray before going to nightclubs--and she had long resisted the head scarf, considered mandatory by many observant Muslims.

Now she and others describe their decision to wear it as a journey of empowerment and spirituality. Yet it is also a journey they're embarking upon in a post-9/11 world, when Islam is looked upon with suspicion, even contempt.

Making a Place for Themselves

One in four Americans holds a negative view of Muslims, according to an October 2004 poll released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group based in Washington, D.C. Twenty-six percent of the 1,000 respondents reported a belief that Muslims teach violence and hatred; 27 percent said Muslims value human life less than others.

It helps little that nightly headline news from Iraq features terrorist beheadings and so-called "Islam experts" such as Bush appointee Daniel Pipes, board member at the U.S. Institute for Peace, incite fear with statements about U.S. Muslims' long-term designs to replace the Constitution with the Qur'an.

Such attitudes have motivated some young Arab Muslims to set the record straight about their maligned faith. Depicted as outsiders, they are attempting to reclaim their place in American society and, in the process, are forging a new Muslim-American identity.

"Today, many Muslims realize that it is not their Islamic identity but their American citizenship that is fragile," writes Muqtedar Khan, a fellow with the Michigan-based Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, in a 2003 New York Times editorial. Attacks on civil liberties, enshrined in such legislation as the PATRIOT Act and anti-terrorism measures, he adds, have served to marginalize and target Muslims as un-American.

The trend is perhaps most pronounced among women, because by wearing head scarves and long, concealing robes, they embody the Muslim presence in America.

"I feel a big responsibility on my shoulders, because now I'm a walking representative of Islam," says 22-year-old spoken-word poet Gihad Ali, who began veiling nearly two years ago after her mother died. "I knew it was going to be difficult following 9/11, but I thought, 'Fine, that's my test.'"

Ali, who was born and raised in Chicago, says she was tempted to put on the veil right after 9/11 to make a statement but felt that would be doing it for the wrong reasons. Instead, she waited until she could "cover for religious reasons" and now embraces her visibility as a Muslim as a way to dispel popular misconceptions.

One misconception is that veiled women are foreigners who do not speak English. While renewing her driver's license at the department of motor vehicles, Ali says the clerk behind the counter spoke to her in an exaggeratedly loud voice. "DO-YOU-WEAR-CONTACTS?" she asked.

"I don't know if she expected me to speak with an accent or have to use sign language," recalls Ali. But she knew her Islamic attire stood for something. "Just because I don't look like you and I dress differently doesn't mean I can't speak the same language," she says. "I have a job. I have family. I have friends and hobbies. The only difference is that I cover, and I have a different faith."

Ali has also made it a point to represent Muslim women on stage, where her fiery poems now include themes about Islamic women. "It's not just important for me but for all Muslim sisters that veil to let people know that we're not submissive, that we're not subordinate, that we're individuals," she says. She offers an impromptu line from one such poem: "When you look at me, see liberation, cause I'm not the product of some Osama-bin-Laden-Islamic-fundamentalist-type nation."