Yusef
A young, lonely Muslim guy in college, Yusef quickly decides that even if it means not being exposed to true diversity, that he would rather live with fellow Muslims than to live in the dorms with the general population. This novel, simply put, is a collection of his friendships with those Muslims, and the vast array of their diversity. It turns out, people are radically diverse, even within one single religious community.
Jehangir
A disenfranchised punker who is also a Muslim. He lives with Yusef in a house that is basically like a co-op for young, open-minded Muslims to do life together. He is a guitarist with a mohawk, and he is liberal in his theology.
Ayyub
A skateboarder and a friend of Yusef's. He is always riding his skateboard, topless, but, again, he is a Muslim. His social views are shaped by his understanding of Islam. They all begin to have this in common. His participation in punk culture is Muslim in flavor, it seems to Yusef.
Rabeya
The lone female resident in the co-op. She wears a burka, and even though she has an incredibly open-minded theology, she just prefers to do life the conservative way she knows how, so she goes through her entire life basically wearing head-to-toe religious clothing. But then, when she speaks, she is undeniably creative, open, and liberal in her interpretation of the Koran.
Umar
Umar is a conservative personality who lives in a house of punk rockers. He isn't at odds with them, but he often voices conservative ideas, and he often fights for order. His view of the Koran is more literal, so he often fights for religious rules to be observed, where his roommates tend to interpret those passages as figurative.
