In Monday’s RNS report Jeff Diamant writes about a team of Muslim girls who play high school basketball. There are fewer than a half-dozen girls basketball teams at Islamic schools in the country: Each afternoon before basketball practice, Hiba Hussain swaps her regular polyester Muslim head scarf for a cotton one. The cotton better absorbs sweat as she hustles down the court, scurries for rebounds and dives for loose balls. Hiba, 15, is a point guard for New Jersey’s only girls basketball team from an Islamic school. The players at Noor-Ul-Iman School in South Brunswick compete while wearing head scarves-called hijabs-long sleeves and sweat pants. Win or lose, the team is a minor spectacle, attracting stares for its garb and surprising opponents with its aggressive play. The head scarves initially make the girls seem out of place on the court to many fans. To the girls themselves, the scarves are an afterthought.

Stephen Witty reviews the film “La Petite Jerusalem,” which looks at issues of Jewish assimilation: To some eyes, perhaps, Laura is the stereotypical image of the nice Jewish girl. She studies hard in college, holds down a work-study job on campus and picks up extra money tutoring. She lives at home with her mother, older sister, brother-in-law, and four rambunctious nieces and nephews. She dresses modestly, doesn’t date, curse or use drugs-what’s not to like? But in the eyes of her immigrant Orthodox family, Laura’s in danger of not being Jewish at all. The film “La Petite Jerusalem,” by carefully observing Laura’s small world, gradually grows to give us a universal look at generational conflicts and the agonies of assimilation.