Muslim students at CU want prayer area
Daily Camera ^ | August 4, 2007 | Brittany Anas
dailycamera.com
Muslim students took a break outside of their University of Colorado office, and in the hallway, positioned their prayer rugs and bodies to face northeast toward Mecca.
It was the second of the day's five ritual prayers. And, except for the echoes of clicking heels and voices, the corridor that houses dozens of other student groups was mostly quiet.
But when the fall semester starts in a few weeks, the University Memorial Center and its hallways, which double as a prayer space for the Muslim students, will once again be bustling.
Muslim students at CU have been pushing for a quiet space on campus that could be used for prayer. Kelly Brewer, a junior international affairs major and president of the Muslim Student Association...
The requests of students in Boulder are part of a larger national movement by Muslim students...
“One thing that state universities should know is that they are under no obligation to build prayer rooms that are interfaith, or prayer rooms used by one specific group,” Lynn said. “If they do use tax dollars to build an exclusively religious building they risk lawsuits by people that don’t agree with the religion that is being supported in this way.”
Critics say Muslim students are getting preferential treatment as some schools nationwide — including the University of Michigan at Dearborn, a campus that has a large Muslim population — are building footbaths for students, who use them before prayer.
Edina Lekovic, communications director for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, said footbaths are not even a staple in most Muslims’ homes. She said she would rather see students pushing for a chaplain who could improve interfaith relations between different on-campus religious groups.
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