dave stacy

Dave, a staunch Christian from West Virginia, lived in a Muslim community in Dearborn, Michigan, for 30 days.

Before going to live with Shamael and Sadia, Dave had scant interaction with any Muslims. "I picture a woman with a sheet or hat and her face covered," he said. "I think of men with AK-47s." But Dave knew stepping out of his comfort zone was an amazing opportunity. "It's going to put me, probably, in one of the most vulnerable positions I have to be in," Dave explained, "and I expect to really grow from it."

But the cultural discomfort cut both ways: Shamael was uncomfortable with the prospect of Dave's being alone with Sadia. As Shamael explains, "It's just more of a religious custom that one doesn't stay in a room alone with another person from the other sex."

Dave did stay for the full 30 days and began to embrace Muslim culture. He wore traditional Muslim clothing, studied the Koran daily, spoke Arabic, grew a beard and ate Middle Eastern food.

At the end of his 30-day dare, Dave had a much different perspective about Islam. "Before, I never really knew anything about Islam and I really never had any thoughts of it. I got married, actually, on September 15, four days after 9/11. I just was so angry right after that event!" Dave admits. "It's a very shallow view: 'Muslims hate us. We hate them. Why don't we just nuke them?' There's never really any thought past that. Unfortunately, people that are so ignorant of the other faiths are often the ones that are most vocal about it."

Now, after essentially becoming a Muslim for 30 days, Dave has a new understanding of prejudice. "I've got a new appreciation for what it's like to be discriminated against," says Dave. "When I was in Michigan, it was strange because the white Americans there looked at me very differently [when I was dressed like a Muslim,] often with very mean looks on their faces. [Meanwhile,] the Muslim population was very, very distrustful of me. They thought I was part of some conspiracy to make them look bad."

Of course, this was an interesting experience for Dave's hosts as well.

Shamael says that he found it difficult when he informed Dave of the rules preventing unmarried men and women from being alone together. "As a host, we should be welcoming and we should be inviting— it doesn't matter who it is," explains Shamael. "But with the religious and cultural upbringing we have, we felt it was the appropriate thing to tell him. 'Okay, the man has to go or the woman has to go.' Men and women just don't stay together in one room alone."

In another eye-opening experience, Shamael recounts a conversation he had with Dave. "I asked him a question. I said, 'Name five Muslims that you know,'" Shamael says. "He told me, 'Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein...' And I'm, like, 'Oh, my God: We're all terrorists.' And I said, 'What about Muhammad Ali? What about Hakeem Olajiwan? What about these more prominent Muslim figures in America?' And I realized, at that point, Muslims need to do a better job about explaining their faith, about being better American citizens, about taking the lead in addressing different social issues and whatnot."