When Nafiysah Rashada passes fellow Muslims on the street, she speaks the traditional greeting, "As-salamu alaikum" ("May peace be upon you").
But occasionally, fellow Muslims do not return the greeting. When that happens, Rashada believes it is because they think she is not dressed properly in hijab - covered modestly from head to toe.
Rashada, 25, designs her own clothes. Her style is decidedly Afrocentric. She calls it, "bridging the Islamic religion with African culture."
She was born into an African-American Muslim community. Her mother and some of her older sisters still wear simple, A-line, ankle-length dresses and veils, similar to those worn by women in Arabic cultures. But Rashada says she needs to express her own cultural heritage as well as her religious identity.
"I feel like myself, my true self," Rashada said of the way she dresses now. A nursing student, she also works part time at Hakim's Book Store in West Philadelphia.
She is among a growing number of African-American women who are altering the way Muslim women dress.
Many are abandoning the styles worn by women who joined the Nation of Islam and other Islamic groups in the 1960s and 1970s.
In Atlanta this spring, the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam held a fashion show and auction where designers displayed bold-patterned tunics and flowing chiffon outfits that adhere to the Muslim tradition of sunna, which means dressing modestly according to the Koran. The audience wore outfits of every color in silk, satin, gauze, chiffon, cotton, damask and batik.
Rashida Kenya, who lives in University City, also looks to Africa, rather than Saudi Arabia, when it comes to her attire.
"I wish that black Americans were exposed to the versatility of modesty, how modesty is interpreted in a variety of cultures," Kenya said.
She added that women in countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India have their own unique styles, including knee-length, long-sleeved tunic tops worn over pants.
Kenya recently returned from a trip to Senegal, The Gambia and Mali, where she saw Muslim women wearing gorgeous outfits, including "grand boubous" - long caftan-type dresses embroidered in various designs.
Kenya, who owns The Silk Tent clothing and gift stores in University City and The Gallery, said there are some Muslims who would disagree with her choice of clothing.
Some will stop a woman and point out that a curl of hair has slipped out
