For Catholic students at UP, there is no shortage of spaces for prayer — with the Chapel of Christ the Teacher and chapels in every dorm hall. However, for many non-Catholic students, the lack of prayer spaces for other religions proves to be a challenge.
Students are hopeful for new prayer spaces with the creation of a new, temporary Muslim prayer room established in the Diversity Center in Buckley Center last fall. According to Hanan Jabar, vice president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), the leaders of the club advocated for the room to be located in the Diversity Center due to its convenient location for their members.
“That was kind of our first thought for another prayer room,” Jabar said. “And a lot of the Muslim students do hang out in [the Diversity Center], so we were like, ‘This is perfect for all of us.’”
For years, Christie Hall's basement was the only space dedicated to Muslim prayer. For Manar Surur, president of MSA, the room not only provided Muslim students with a dedicated space for prayer but also became a place where they found community.
“Me and my friends would just stay there and talk,” Surur said. “It would just be a nice space to see other Muslims…It's kind of like a cozy space as well.”
However, the foundation of Christie can be vulnerable to humidity, which allows insects to make their way into the building. Since Muslim prayer involves kneeling on the floor, this poses an issue.
According to the Director of Campus Ministry Tim Weed, the building’s vulnerability to insects initiated a search to provide more spaces for Muslim students on campus.
“That kind of raised the question of, ‘Is there a difference in space that we could look for, for a prayer room?’” Weed said.
Although the new prayer room in the Diversity Center is temporary, the MSA leaders hope it sparks a wider conversation about the need to provide spaces on campus for non-Catholic students. Currently, plans to create a second permanent prayer room remain unknown.
“I would love to see one prayer room in Buckley, one in Shiley, one in DB, because I know there's empty spaces in these buildings,” Surur said. “I think it would be very useful for a lot of students.”
While MSA has felt supported by Campus Ministry throughout the process of creating a new prayer room, Jabar notes the importance of having diverse religious spaces at a Catholic university. For her, it reflects the diversity among the student body.
“I think it's good to be inclusive,” Jabar said. “There's a lot of faiths on campus, so everyone should be supported, like, no matter what religion [they are].”
Tiffany Marquez Escobar is the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at marqueze25@up.edu.
