Mipsterz: A space for Muslim hipsters

Mipsterz combat Islamophobia by "just being themselves"

Ever heard of the term ‘Mipsterz’? It originated in 2012 when a group of friends in New York jokingly called themselves Muslim hipsters. Though the friends refused to label themselves initially, Mipsterz gradually evolved into an online community garnering international attention.

The group blew up after one of its videos featuring women wearing hijabs went viral online.

PHOTO: TUMBLR

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The video shot in parts of Los Angeles and New York showed young Muslim women taking selfies, eating ice cream, skateboarding and fencing. The video’s art director, Layla Shaikley said that it was meant to serve as a “self-biography” for people outside the community.

The video’s response was mixed; supporters applauded the depiction of young Muslim women, while some detractors shamed the women for participating.

Others argued that the video just showed Muslim women trying too hard to fit in.

"We're so incredibly obsessed with appearing 'normal' or 'American' or 'Western' by way of what we do and what we wear that we undercut the actual abnormality of our communities. ... And in all of this, we might just lose that which makes us unique: our substance," Sana Saeed wrote in The Islamic Monthly.

After the controversy that the video attracted, Mipsterz eventually made it out to the suburbs.

PHOTO: TUMBLR

Abbas Rattani, producer of the video and co-founder of Mipsterz, said that parents of Muslim children in the US started reaching out to them.

Their kids felt foreign at times, the parents said, but after the video went viral, their classmates saw that being Muslim could be cool. Some even wanted to be Mipsterz themselves, Rattani remembers hearing.

"Mipsterz has created a space where young Muslims can have open discussions, share their experiences and not be ashamed of who they are," Shaikley says.

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Though the group's goal is not to address Islamophobia, "in a way, we are sort of combating Islamophobia by just being ourselves," Rattani says.

Soon after, 1000s of Muslims and people belonging to different faiths joined the online community, which exists as a Facebook group as well as an email list.

PHOTO: TUMBLR

The group, however, has not come up with a specific definition for the term as yet. Shaikley describes a Mipster as "a young Muslim American just trying to find a space for themselves unapologetically ... reconciling multiple identities and doing it like a rock star."

Rattani is less comfortable committing to one definition, calling it "abstract."

"We don't take ourselves too seriously, and we love individuality."

The group also has a Tumblr account, where they post funny memes, videos, pictures and blogs.

This article originally appeared on CNN.