A visit to ArRum shows how Islamic culture (or lifestyle) can coexist with a modern, Western youth culture. Nestled among the chic and trendy bars, clubs and restaurants of London’s financial district, ArRum displays the best of Islamic art and design: whitewashed walls, a mosaic courtyard fountain, a richly stocked library (most of the books are in Arabic or about Islam) and Islamic art. No alcohol can be found, but the trendy (and health-conscious) juice bar is more “today” anyway, as is the restaurant’s “fusion” menu. The Internet-access cubicles don’t look out of place in the same building as a tranquil prayer room and art gallery–the ultrachic, ultramodern and Islamic blending together seamlessly. This isn’t medieval Cairo but 21st-century London, where Islam seems to be doing just fine.
