Sara Alqaragholy, 23, identifies as a non-practicing Muslim, though she admits this identification would puzzle many. But even though she doesn’t traditionally practice, she believes she carries core Islamic values with her wherever she goes. In fact, it is her ongoing desire to encounter God in nature that keeps her in touch with her Muslim heritage. “From my Islamic education, I grew up understanding that nature must be respected and preserved, for these are gifts from God,” she told me one afternoon over the phone. Sara sees everything in this world as connected, from the ground to the trees to the people who live on this earth, a worldview she credits to Sufi influence. “I do not think my family understands much of my developing beliefs, or how much they shape my worldview,” she added.