A close friend of mine has started to strictly practice Islam. She wears a hijab and an abaya to a school which has a 'business attire' dress code. As of recently her Instagram account has transformed from a continuity of selfies to countless posts about praying in public, dressing modestly and even how one must sit when praying. She even brings a digital tally counter to school and counts the number of religious terms she utters throughout the day.
The above examples make me fear that she is forming an unhealthy obsession with her religion.
I also cannot avoid being bothered by the hypocrisy in her actions. After school, I met her in the toilets when she was 'making her wadu' (a practice in which one washes their face, hands and feet before praying). I think this procedure in itself is not appropriate in a school environment, particularly washing feet in a public sink.
I also knew she had a lesson at that time, so I asked her if the teacher had given her permission to pray. She replied saying that she told her she was just going to the toilets, and in order to account for the time it would take to pray, she would tell her that she had to go to a toilet on the other side of the school.
Is the fact that she is lying for the sake of her religious practices not entirely illogical?
She also brings the Quran and other religious books to school, and rather than doing any of her work ahead or reading outside of her studies, she reads in Arabic and watches Islamic lectures on the school computers.
Could these be potential signs of radicalisation?