Muslim Youth Find a Bridge In a U.S. Tradition: Scouting

Hasan told the girls about Eid rituals, such as putting henna on their hands; taught them to say " Salaam -u- aleikum ," Arabic for "Peace be upon you"; and read a story about a family celebrating Eid.

Afterward, Mona Magid, 6, a Brownie in a magenta headscarf who is the daughter of the society's imam, explained more about fasting.

"Like if you weren't eating for the entire day, the way your throat would get dry is how the poor feel," she said. "So Muslims want to try to help the poor."

Ashley d'Hedouville, 7, a second-grader at Clearview Elementary School in Herndon, said she learned that "Ramadan is when you eat at night."

Her sister Ann Marie, 8, said she knew about fasting from a classmate. "My friend does that. She goes to the library" during lunch.

Once she and her classmates learned the reason, "we wouldn't talk about food in front of her, or drinks."

While the Girl Scouts munched on halal, or religiously sanctioned, hot dogs, the center's Muslim Boy Scout troops met downstairs for pizza, and the adults had their own cultural exchange. The Muslim mothers brought dishes from their home countries (chicken curry, rice, lamb and samosas) and from the United States (pasta casserole) and a large cake wishing a happy Eid.

Gina Gallagher, a Herndon resident attending the dinner for the second consecutive year, said getting to know the Muslim mothers had been a revelation.

"A lot of people look at the women with the head scarves, and they can't relate," she said. "You look at a woman like that and you're like, 'I don't have anything in common with her.' And then you sit down, you eat, you realize you all have the same problems."