MSO pushes for designated prayer areas

Muslim students try to find solace on campus for prayer.

By Greg Young

Published Feb. 10, 2009

It was the middle of the day and Muslim Student Organization Spokeswoman Nabihah Maqbool needed to complete one of her the daily prayers that her faith requires.

As she began to pray at the A.P. Green Chapel, Maqbool heard someone playing an acoustic guitar, an annoyance Maqbool is used to enduring while praying there.

"It posed quite a distraction for me while I was trying to pray," Maqbool said.

The scene is somewhat emblematic of the troubles Muslim students face while trying to find places to pray on campus. Already, Muslim students have lost one of the spaces on campus they could use to pray, the microfiche room at Ellis Library, due to a renovation. They are also encountering problems at A.P. Green, where Muslim students have found doors locked.

Although there was no official agreement from library officials, Maqbool said staffers were told not to interrupt Muslim students while praying. A recent library renovation moved the microfiche outside and converted the room into a study room, rendering it useless as a prayer room. MSO officials said the room was previously the most common place for Muslim students to pray.

"They have been told that the area is known to be used by Muslim students to pray so if you see one just don't disturb them," Maqbool said.

For some students, the problem with lack of prayer rooms has gotten to the point where students are using the lactation center in the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center as a prayer room.

"A lot of the Muslim guys are a little apprehensive about going into the lactation station," MSO Vice President Faeza Khan said.

Khan mentioned problems with the chapel being locked around November, accusations Student Auxiliary Services spokeswoman Michelle Froese didn't comment on.

Froese said the Memorial Union officials reserve the chapel and the various rooms upstairs to other groups.

"The rooms are reservable and we make them open for everybody," Froese said.

With those concerns in mind, Khan is planning to meet with school officials, including Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Cathy Scroggs. Khan said the meeting will focus on long-term solutions, including reserving a room in the new student center for meditation and prayer.

"It would be more convenient if we could have something arranged where there is a set room on campus that we can go to," Khan said.

Khan was also pleased with the administration's response to the problem, saying the administration has been "very receptive." Scroggs affirmed other places to pray would be examined.

One of the important factors in the location of a new prayer area will be privacy. As some prayers require movements and gestures, Maqbool said praying in a public place is awkward.

"As a girl I suppose I feel very uncomfortable doing that in a public place and I'd prefer some privacy," Maqbool said.

The Feb. 10 report “MSO pushes for designated prayer areas” Muslim Student Organization Spokeswoman Nabihah Maqbool’s last name was misspelled. The Maneater regrets the error.