TINA MARTIN: Next on Local, U.S.A., a young boy navigates Rubik's Cube competitions and Muslim American identity.

I've been through some tough things in my life.

And cubing became my coping mechanism.

I'm feeling great, I'm really pumped.

I practiced all this morning.

Really excited for competition.

MARTIN: Community, competition, and growing up in America.

TARIQ: And when you fit all those pieces together, you get something bigger.

And finally, you know, you put it all together, and that's your life.

MARTIN: "Tariq's Cube," next, on Local, U.S.A. ♪ Funding for Local, U.S.A. was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Additional funding was provided by the Wyncote Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

♪ (talking softly in background) ♪ Here's two-by-two.

Then this one I use for three-by-three with one hand.

This one is for three-by-three with two hands.

This, four-by-four, five-by-five.

Then these two cubes are substitutes.

This one is my substitute for two hands, and this one is my substitute for one hand.

And this is just a funny thing to have.

MOHAMAD: Okay, let's go, to the car.

TARIQ: I think the little things in life are like little pieces of a Rubik's Cube.

And when you fit all those pieces together, you get something bigger.

And finally, you know, you put it all together, and that's your life.

Every little piece of your life coming together and working together to make one bigger thing.

(exhales) (cube clicking) MOHAMAD: So do we have to pay over here today?

TARIQ: I think we have to pay $18.

(people talking in background) To win this award today, the descrambling table is on this side of the stage by me-- I'm waving.

♪ TARIQ: So we're at a cubing competition right now.

And a cubing competition is, essentially, you come and compete with other people and see how fast you can solve a Rubik's Cube.

There are different events and different Rubik's Cubes that you can solve and try and get the fastest time.

By the end of the day, you have a pretty clear sense of how good people are.

It's one of my favorite things.

I am hoping to get into the finals for three-by-three.

Five-by-five, I'm not really trying to go fast as much as, like, competing in five-by-five, it'll be my first time, so... MAN (on loudspeaker): Carter McCod, Kyle Ishvah, and Tariq Ali, please bring your puzzles up to the drop-off table.

(Tariq exhales) JUDGE: Set, go.

♪ (cube clicking) - That's a new PB!

FILM PRODUCER: You got a PB in competition?

- Yeah!

- Whoa!

JUDGE: Nice job.

FILM PRODUCER: Nice, man.

♪ JUDGE: Ready?

- Oh, my God!

(cube clicking) (cube clicking) ♪ TARIQ: Dad.

MOHAMAD: Yeah?

TARIQ: I'm already done.

MOHAMAD: Hmm?

TARIQ: I'm already done.

- You're done?

Oh.

- Yeah.

- You just do one more?

- Yeah.

- What'd you get?

- 17, wasn't... - Okay.

- Wasn't good.

Are you checking?

- I'm looking for it, too.

- Yeah.

TARIQ: Overall, today wasn't great.

I feel like I could have done much better and I didn't.

But there's always next time.

MOHAMAD: So you got a 14, a 15, and a 13... - Which averages to 14.1.

- Oh, okay.

- I mean, it's, it's pretty good.

- Yeah.

- It's about average for a competition.

- Yeah.

TARIQ: Oh, well, we're going down to Savannah for the Nationals.

FILM PRODUCER: Are you nervous?

- I'm not nervous, no.

I'm more apprehensive, per se.

Well, I'm apprehensive that, you know, my hands will clam up at the last second and I'll DNF.

My hands will get all sweaty from that, and then the next time and going forward, it'll just be a downward spiral of... Gah!

♪ ♪ (people talking in background) TARIQ: I'm feeling great, I'm really pumped.

I practiced all this morning.

Really excited for competition.

Everyone, welcome to U.S. Nationals 2015.

(applauding and cheering) Now, we're gonna begin the five-by-five event.

If you're in heat one of five-by-five, please bring up your cube to the blue drop-off table.

♪ (cubes clicking) ♪ Tariq Ali.

♪ (cube clicking) ♪ ♪ MOHAMAD: Nice!

TARIQ: Thank God.

MOHAMAD: You saw it?

Yeah, yeah, you got one in, like, two minutes and three seconds.

It was really great.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, like, right there.

And you're, like, "Yeah!"

(laughs) - Good one.

FILM PRODUCER: So you're gonna practice a lot harder for the next round?

- Oh, yep.

I always say that.

After every competition, you're, like, "I'm gonna go home, and I'm gonna get really, really, really good."

And then, I mean, I never do.

But I definitely wanna, like...

I wanna remember the feeling of wanting to be the best.

And then that'll, you know, fuel me to do better.

MAN (on loudspeaker): Tariq Ali.

FILM PRODUCER: Do you think they'll ever pronounce your name right?

- I doubt they will, honestly.

FILM PRODUCER: Can't win.

- No.

So when people ask me what my ethnicity is, because of my different name and my differently colored skin, I'll usually say, you know, "I'm from different places around the world."

I mean, I've gotten stopped at the airport because my name's Tariq Ali, and I'm on the "Do Not Fly" list because it's such a common name.

Dad, I don't see my shoes downstairs.

Didn't you see them the other day?

MOHAMAD (on phone): Yeah, I think your shoes are in... Um...

I think we put 'em on the stairs for you to put 'em in your room.

- Okay, thank you.

MOHAMAD: Love you, bye.

- Bye.

Nope, those are snow pants.

Tonight, a couple of people from our mosque are singing at a temple across the street.

This is actually the first time that our mosque and their temple have gotten together to sing.

I go to a mosque called the Islamic Center of Boston.

I just don't know, like, what I should wear.

I really like the whole part of it-- the community, and the building's really nice.

Very helpful-- it helped me learn about religion, it helped me learn some Arabic.

It helped me learn how to read the Qur'an.

And then there's also the community that I got out of it.

And the community is just so great.

MAN: All right?

KECIA: Excellent.

MAN: Let's roll.

KECIA: All right, bye.

- Bye-bye.

- Tariq, did you eat something?

- No.

- Want a banana or...?

- No, it'll be okay, it'll be okay.

- Okay, all right.

WOMAN: So here's what's going to happen.

When we get up there, we're gonna start, we're all gonna do the three different parts in the Latin first.

TARIQ: I started singing because we didn't have a vocalist in our band, so it was just, like, "Oh, okay, I'll sing."

And now it's, like, this is so much fun.

WOMAN: What better way to start off Shabbat than with the sweet voices of our young people?

This song of peace, "Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu."

(guitar playing) KIDS: ♪ Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu ♪ Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu ♪ Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu ♪ Ve al kulam ♪ Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu ♪ Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu ♪ Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu ♪ Ve al kulam WOMAN: We are honored to cross the street together to join at the mosque following our Shabbat service.

(man praying in Arabic) TARIQ: My whole life has just been one connection with, with God, with Islam, and so, it's, like, it's... As soon as I come in here, I just instantly feel, you know, really connected to Islam and to my roots.

And it's, it's a good feeling.

(man chanting in Arabic) MOHAMAD: I think it's very tough, being a young Muslim in America today.

These kids, you know, need to grow up and be strong, healthy, contributing members of the American society, and it's our responsibility to find a way to take that burden away from them.

Today, I really feel for Tariq.

I really feel for the young Muslims because there's a big burden that they have to deal with.

And, you know, in many cases, all they want to do is be kids.

- Okay.

Rylan, Rylan, let me play you a song.

(video playing on tablet) This is, this is Justin Bieber.

This is Justin Bieber, look, Justin Bieber.

It's the same... (plays chord) ♪ Is it too late now to say... (playing wrong chord): ♪ Sorry ♪ 'Cause I'm missing more than just your body ♪ MOHAMAD: I think Tariq is a, is a very motivated kid.

(strumming ukulele) MOHAMAD: There are a number of things that he loves, and he really gets into 'em.

TARIQ: Hey.

- Hello.

♪ Hi.

KECIA: Hey, how are you?

- I'm good, how are you?

♪ Okay, well, there are different WCA events, which is World Cubing Association.

It's, like, where all the official competitions are.

So it goes, like, two-by-two, three-by-three, and then there are different variations of three-by-three.

But then it goes two-by-two, three-by-three, four-by-four, five-by-five, six-by-six, and seven-by-seven.

But past seven-by-seven, there's nothing.

And then there's Scube, which is, like, a cube that rotates on its corners around it.

Cubing for me is, is a type of joy.

It's sort of a joy of competition, of figuring out new cubes, of solving as fast as I can, of the practice.

And it makes me stand out as an individual.

And it's unique and it's different.

There's a type of box, which is kind of expectations for a person.

And a Rubik's Cube is a box.

It's what a person is, how they act, what they do, what they wear, and in your life, you complete that box.

And so I feel like, by solving a Rubik's Cube, it's kind of like completing that box.

And I think this is approximately where I am right now.

Maybe a little bit less, maybe a little bit more.

But this is where I am.

And I still have a big part of my life to complete.

(sighs, murmurs) Okay, so, what's the website?

- Just search "WCA."

- World Cubing Association.

Okay.

"Registration is currently full."

- Dude, that's a problem.

(laughing) - No!

Mom, I just... KECIA: What's the matter?

- I hate to say you're right, but registration's full.

- (exhales): All right, let's add ourselves to the waiting list.

- Oh, boy.

MOHAMAD: See, you could send an email to them asking how many people are on the waiting list and, you know, what the chances are.

TARIQ: I'm sure there's already a ton of people who's... gonna do that.

That's that.

- All right, well, we'll see what happens.

- Yeah, maybe I'll get in.

- Yeah, yeah.

MOHAMAD: I think the cube has a very special place in Tariq's life, in part because it became something that he could love and he could master at a time in his life when he needed something like that.

♪ Tariq was 11 at the time that Shaira passed away.

And I remember I was at work, and I... And, and Kecia called me, and, and she said, "Shaira's missing."

Tariq got on the phone with me, and he was, was crying.

And I said to him, "We will find her."

And, um... And, uh... And, and... Hm.

♪ I've been through some tough things in my life.

And I think one of the most... And I think that one of the hardest things in my life to get over was the death of my sister Shaira.

MOHAMAD: She was a good human being, and she was a role model for Tariq, and then for this happen to her, how could it make sense?

And so I think it just, it was a shock to his entire system, his entire belief system, his entire confidence in himself, his family, everything around him.

And that all had to be rebuilt.

TARIQ: I'm doing all I can to learn how to cope with it.

And I definitely haven't yet.

But...

I feel like that's the hardest thing in my life.

MOHAMAD: So I think in some ways, you know, Tariq identifies very closely with the cube because it was so important as part of his, in some ways, you know, personal therapy following Shaira's loss.

(clicking) It's become part of him and part of his identity.

And I can see the cube being with him for the rest of his life.

(mouse clicking) TARIQ: So a couple of months ago, my dad and I were here, and we were trying to sign up for Nationals, but registration was full.

But it turns out, like, 100, 110 people didn't... decided not to go, and so I got in by chance.

And, um, I'm very happy about it.

It's next weekend, I, like, just realized that.

Oh, my God, I thought it was still, like, months away.

♪ MAN (on speaker): Everyone, welcome to U.S. Nationals 2016.

(crowd cheering and applauding) TARIQ: This is my third Nationals.

You walk in and, like, about any competition, really, you just, like, feel this sort of, like, energy coming from people.

But it's also, like, very different because I'm a different person every time I come here.

♪ MAN (on speaker:) On the red stage, we're now calling heat one for Rubik's Clock.

On the blue stage, we are calling heat one for five-by-five.

TARIQ: The judge just lifts the cover, and I see it, and it's a huge mess of colors, of six colors.

And I'm thinking, I'm ready for this solve.

I'm ready to take full control of this five-by-five and spin it until it's right, and I'm ready to compete with myself and other people and to doing it the fastest.

I don't know, I don't really get a nervous feeling whenever I look at a scrambled cube.

And it's a really good feeling when it's right in front of you and you have the energy and motivation to do it.

Also, there's the feeling of competition with other people, which is, like, kind of a motivating, competition-type thing.

And there's also the competition with yourself.

Which is... also can be really motivating and is a good challenge.

I just did five-by-five.

I did okay, actually, pretty, pretty good for, like, the amount of five-by-five I do.

I got a 1:57 average, I think, about there.

And then it didn't look like I was gonna, or, like, I wasn't sure if I was gonna make cut-off, 'cause it turns out cut-off was two minutes, but I got under two minutes the second time.

♪ So Nationals 2016 is coming to a close.

I really felt like I connected with people.

And also my times got a lot better.

I'm always, like, "Well, these people are doing better than me."

And I want to be, like, "these people."

I want to be getting those times.

I want to be, like, one of the people to look at, and it's, like, "Oh, wow, he gets really good times."

Like, "He's really good at this."

I mean, I just love cubing so much.

I've, I've grown so much, like, I come to the competitions and I feel like I leave a better person.

And to me, cubing has taught me how to, like, focus on one thing and, like, go for the gold.

I want to go home and practice and, like, work really, really hard to finally achieve this thing, and, like, come back and show everybody that I'm, like, five seconds faster, and it's insane, and break a world record.

That's a really high aspiration.

But a year from now, I hope to be in Paris.

Even better.

♪ ♪ Our mosque received this horrific piece of mail addressed to the Children of Satan.

This is the mosque that Tariq has been to since he was a baby.

It's the mosque where he learned how to be a good person, a good person to everyone.

♪ TARIQ: This letter that we received that's just, like, horrible and saying nasty things actually has brought people closer together from different communities, rising up, empowering us and it's just, so much good has come out of it.

DEMONSTRATORS: ♪ Shalom aleichem ♪ Alaikum salaam ♪ Shalom aleichem MAN: Thank you, thank you very much.

MOHAMAD: I often reflect on what it was like for me growing up in America when I was Tariq's age.

I was a young boy, you know, with an immigrant family.

We were poor.

But I didn't feel that being Muslim was a problem.

♪ TARIQ: Which side of me do you know?

I like Rubik's Cubing, magic.

I like music, I like performing, that kind of thing.

And then there's the side of me, I'm Tariq Ali, my dad is born and raised Muslim.

Like, I'm a Muslim American.

My mom converted when she was this old.

These are two extremes of the same side.

♪ Maybe it's not that I'm hiding it, but it's that I'm, like, reserving it for myself, and for me to, like, process and think about and embrace within myself.

(man chanting in Arabic) MOHAMAD: It's been very challenging.

You know, he's had to go through the loss of his sister.

He's poured his emotions out in the cube.

It's, it's been quite a challenge.

And then layer on top of that, having to grow up Muslim in an environment like this, it's much more difficult than, I think, what I had to, to experience.

(sighs): I was told to bring all long clothing.

Um, 'cause Zika, but...

I mean, it's gonna be hot.

So we're, we're going to Guatemala.

We're going to see the opening of another center for domestic abuse.

My sister, she made a mural about the different steps of domestic abuse and, like, who you can talk to, and, like, who to call and, like, how to deal with things.

And they opened this center in her memory that my family was really involved with.

And so my dad and I are going down, and, yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.

♪ (boat engine humming) ♪ (people talking in background) ♪ MOHAMAD: Being a teenager in America is difficult today.

The circumstances that led to Shaira's death is an extreme example of that.

And it's really given our family a lot of perspective.

As a result, we've committed ourselves to doing what we can to help other children around the world.

♪ This is the mural that Shaira designed five years ago.

♪ TARIQ: She was so involved with this kind of thing.

And, yeah, she loved kids, and, like, she was such a good person.

♪ FILM PRODUCER: Does it help you to feel closer to her?

I guess so, in a way.

♪ And so it feels really refreshing and kind of emotional to be here with these girls who are the, about the same age as my sister was when she died.

Eso es un cubo.

TARIQ: I'm just really glad that I can share what was such an important gift to me around the time that my sister died, and what became my coping mechanism, cubing, that I can share that with all these girls.

♪ (cube clicking rapidly) (audience laughing softly) - Fin.

(applauding) TARIQ: The Rubik's Cube is me, and one day I will be solved.

♪ ♪ One, two, three, four ♪ Get my shoes and out the door ♪ ♪ Five, I'm alive ♪ Six, seven, eight, feeling great ♪ ♪ Nine, gonna shine ♪ Life is good, I'm doing fine ♪ Ten, gonna do it like I do it again, yeah ♪ ♪ I look into the sky with all the beautiful color ♪ ♪ But there's more than just for me ♪ ♪ So gonna share it with another ♪ ♪ I got to show, to give, let out ♪ ♪ I want to sing and shout ♪ Take a look and see a beautiful morning ♪ ♪ That turns into a beautiful evening ♪ ♪ And together make a beautiful life ♪ ♪ And if you want to see ♪ Then come along with me, that's right ♪ MOHAMAD: What was that?

- You see that?

MOHAMAD: You got a what?

You got a 14?

- A 14!

MOHAMAD: Wow, one-handed?

- Eight or nine, yeah.

- That's pretty...

In which competition?

- In one-handed.

And I did that with one hand.

MOHAMAD: Where, in what city?

Is it Worlds?

Championship?

(singer vocalizing) ♪ Come on, come on, come on and sing, yeah ♪ ♪ Come on, come on, come on and sing ♪ (singer vocalizing) ♪ Come on, come on, come on and sing, yeah ♪ ♪ Come on, come on, come on and sing ♪ ♪ With another sunrise it's a brand-new day ♪ ♪ So gonna make a little list ♪ MARTIN: Funding for Local, U.S.A. was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Additional funding was provided by the Wyncote Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

♪