IOWA CITY (AP) — Muslim students at Iowa’s three public universities are seeking permanent spaces for daily and weekly religious observances.
Motier Haskins, faculty adviser to the University of Iowa’s Muslim Student Association, says he’s scheduled to meet this week with the school’s vice president for student life to again discuss a permanent space.
University officials say they work to accommodate space requests from spiritual and faith-based student groups. Once a group is recognized by the university’s Student Organizations Review Committee, it can reserve facilities at minimal or no cost.
Mohamed Othman, a University of Iowa sophomore, says sometimes students barely make it to prayers because rooms change.
Muslim Student Association leaders at Iowa State University say they have access to the school’s chapel, but it’s too far from classes to allow frequent use. Eshraq Alkhabbaz, an international student recruiter, is working with the Muslim Student Association to find a space for University of Northern Iowa students.
Students say having a space would give non-Muslims a place to learn more about the religion.
Othman says “If someone wants to know something about Islam, especially with all the controversy going around the world right now, it would be nice to have an address (on campus) where people could come to ask, ‘What do you guys think about this? What do you guys think about that?’ “
The national Muslim Student Association, which has been working for years with campus organizations to seek various accommodations at public universities across the nation. The association usually advices students to ask for a neutral prayer area that would be made available to all religious groups on campus, if such a space does not already exist. In any public institution, it’s very important for them to consider not only the needs or the wants of one religious group, but to represent all students and all different religions,” said Uzair Siddiqui, project manager for the national group.