It really isn't like that everywhere in North America. Chinatowns, for example. Heck, I lived in a little town of 3000 people and it had a "mexican" part of tow

It really isn't like that everywhere in North America. Chinatowns, for example. Heck, I lived in a little town of 3000 people and it had a "mexican" part of town. I lost friends for dating outside my own percieved race. Folks seperate based on the color of their skin and background quite often. It isn't that folks don't break from the molds, but they are definitely there. The little town didn't have many Muslims, so that wasn't as common, but it did have a fair amount of Mennonite communities in the area. Women with heads covered and conservative, long-sleeve dresses even during the hot summer months and men with beards. They generally kept to themselves, most likely due to cultural similarities. Some areas in the US have some section of Jewish coursts that handle some things and conservative Jews have a network within their communities (friend of mine, American, nearly went through an arranged marriage through them). These are probably much like many of the conservative Muslim communities you spotted - they are simply a different sort of conservative religion. On the other hand, the majority of immigrant Muslims went to language class with are fairly progressive women. Lawyers and nurses and such. They stand out about as much as I do here in Norway.