If a Muslim man can date or even marry a Christian woman or a Jewish woman, why can't a Muslim woman do the same thing with a Christian man or a Jewish man? Aren't they "People of the Book" too, according to Islam? That's the question Mona Wahid asked herself for the thousandth time as she walked through the crowded hallways of Carleton University in the City of Ottawa, Ontario. The tall, bronze-skinned and dark-eyed Palestinian gal absentmindedly gazed at a beautiful, blonde-haired and blue-eyed Christian chick who flirted with a bearded Arab male inside the campus library. Yeah, Muslim get to have all the fun, she told herself. And Muslim girls were supposed to just sit pretty until they made up their minds to get married and start families.

Suddenly feeling dizzy, Mona walked out of the library and into the quad. It was early April and while a bit cool, the temperature outside wasn't unpleasant. The young Arab woman sat on a nearby bench, and wrapped her old Lincoln Catholic Academy letterman jacket tightly around herself. All her life she'd been a tomboy. The first hijab-wearing Arab female rugby player on the all-male rugby team at Lincoln Catholic Academy in the South End of Ottawa, Ontario. Yeah, she made headlines that year. How she loved playing rugby. It had been a while since she played, and even longer since she wore the hijab regularly. These days, she didn't feel like wearing it regularly, she only had it on because she just came from mosque, and nothing her parents Abdul and Fatima Wahid could say would frighten her into submission. She was a grown woman now. Her life, her rules.

The injustices of the conservative Muslim community in which she was born never ceased to amaze or rattle Mona. At the age of twenty two, she stood five feet eleven inches tall, curvy but pretty, with long Black hair and pale brown eyes. The daughter of a Palestinian father and Pakistani mother, Mona considered herself a proud Canadian. After all, she was born in the City of Ottawa, Ontario. In a delivery room inside Civic Hospital. On the first day of February. Her best friend Stacey, a feisty Jamaican chick from Toronto, told her that as an Aquarius, she was bold and headstrong. Mona didn't put too much stock in astrology though it was fun to read in the Ottawa Sun Newspaper which was delivered at the door of her Vanier apartment every morning. The young woman caught sight of a tall Somali guy walking around with a plump white chick. Yeah, another Muslim guy with a Christian chick. Yet Muslim women were forbidden to marry outside their religion. Many Muslim women took this gender-biased rule to seriously that they never even dated men who weren't Muslim because they didn't see a future there. This, at a time when ninety percent of Muslim men under the age of thirty living in Canada found Muslim girls boring and preferred to date non-Muslim women.

Mona Wahid was so absorbed in thought that she barely noticed her friend Louis when he silently sat next to her. He said hello, startling her. Mona almost cried out in surprise. Louis laughed. She laughed too, and playfully smacked him on the shoulder. Louis pretended to flinch. At six-foot-four and 250 pounds, Louis Guillaume was one of the biggest guys at Carleton University. Born and raised in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Louis Guillaume was as Haitian-American as a Wyclef Jean song. His mother Bernice was of French Canadian descent. The tall, red-haired and green-eyed, alabaster-skinned artist had been visiting the City of Cap-Haitien in the island of Haiti when she met Alec Guillaume, Louis father. Alec Guillaume, who was in the process of moving to America at the time. They became fast friends, and even lived together in the States. Eventually they got married and had little Louis. After growing up in Massachusetts, Louis found himself curious about his mother's homeland of Canada. So he opted to study at Carleton University for a couple of years when he found college life in Boston to be boring.

When Mona Wahid first met Louis Guillaume inside the Carleton library last year, she thought he was Haitian since she knew plenty of Haitians at her old high school in Ottawa's South End. However, Louis spoke very little French or Creole and his Boston accent was THICK. The young Haitian-American giant was warm and friendly. In time, they became fast friends. Louis Guillaume was one of the best people that Mona knew. At a school teeming with horny guys, pretentious chicks and fake people, Louis was genuine. Also, unlike most Christians that Mona knew, he seemed to take his faith seriously. Mona didn't know any Catholics who prayed three times a day. Although she once prayed five times a day like a good Muslim was supposed to, Mona wasn't as religious as she was once. The funny thing is that Louis Guillaume, a guy who wasn't even Muslim, was the person who encouraged her to reconnect with God. How about that? He invited her to visit the Christian Students Association. At first she was hesitant. She was unsure how her Arab friends would react if they knew she was attending Christian bible study meetings. However, Louis reminded her that only God could judge her, not ordinary men and women. So she accompanied him to bible study, and learned a lot about the Christian faith.

To Mona's surprise, the Christian students were quite friendly. They were not as surprised to see a Muslim woman among them as she might have thought. While most of the Christian students were Afro-Caribbean, Caucasian and Latin American, Mona did notice that three of them looked Arabian. Most specifically, two dark-haired, bronze-skinned guys named Salouk and Farouk, and a gal named Salome. Mona found out they were Lebanese Christians. They worshiped at a Maronite church in the east end of Ottawa, where many Arab Christians lived. Mona was quite surprised to see Arab Christians in the flesh. They spoke Arabic and everything! And they were really friendly. All her life Mona was told that Arab Christians were the worst kind of infidels. Worse than Jews or Christians in the eyes of fundamental Islam. Arab Christians were traitors to the Arab way of life, which was mostly Muslim these days. And yet these Arab Christian students she met were really nice. Wow.

Mona Wahid thought of all those things, of the wondrous discoveries she made thanks to her friendship with Louis Guillaume. The guy was friendly, open-minded and totally awesome. Sometimes, he took her to the movies. Other times, he took her to restaurants. He was always friendly, courteous and generous. She had never met anyone like him before. To her immense surprise, she started to feel jealous when she'd see him talk to some other chick at school. Yeah, she hated to admit it but she had a crush on him. He was very perceptive, but didn't seem to know THAT. So there they sat, talking together. A large Arab guy with glasses and huge pimples on his face walked out of the Carleton University library with a short Black chick with dreadlocks. The Arab guy noticed Mona sitting next to Louis on the bench, and shot her an angry look. Mona stared at him defiantly, and the Arab guy's gaze didn't waver. A deliciously naughty idea shot through Mona's head. And before she knew it, she grabbed Louis and planted a hot kiss on him. When she came up for air, Louis looked stunned. The big Arab guy with the dreadlocked Black chick was gone. Hmmm.

Louis Guillaume stared at Mona Wahid, a shocked expression on that handsome mug of his. Mona smiled at him, acting bolder than she felt. What had she just done? She just kissed her best friend...on impulse. Did she just jeopardize their friendship? Mona looked at Louis. And Louis looked at Mona. Gathering her courage, she told him that she liked him. As in more than a friend. Louis looked at her for a long moment without saying anything. Then this time, HE kissed HER. As they kissed, a flock of Muslim chicks, both Somali and Arab, came out of the library. Mona was fully aware of them staring at Louis and her. An Arab Muslim woman and a Black Christian man kissing. The ultimate forbidden couple. When they came up for air, the Muslim girls were walking away but still staring. Mona could feel their judgmental eyes on her. Louis looked at her, and Mona looked at him. Gently, he took her hand in his and kissed it. Mona blushed. Hand in hand, they walked back into the library.

Every eyeball inside the second floor of the Carleton University library locked on them. What a pair they made. The tall young Haitian-American man clad in urban gear with the big silver cross hanging around his neck. Looking like a cross between a rapper and a devoted Christian. His hand was entwined with that of the tall, hijab-wearing, conservatively dressed young Arab woman. Black and white. Male and female. Christian and Muslim. Together. Mona could feel the stare of every Somali, Pakistani, Palestinian, Syrian, Egyptian, Tunisian and Algerian person locked on her, and on Louis. If looks could kill...they wouldn't last five minutes. She looked at Louis smiling face, and felt his joy and positive energy somehow lighten her mood. Mona thought of her favorite Eminem song, and told herself she would not be afraid. Then she picked up her bag, and then went inside the Page Break restaurant to grab a quick bite with Louis, her sexy new boyfriend.