Mini-mosques for foreign Saudi Muslim students on college campuses across the U.S. via Muslim students seek changes to prayer room – The Scribe – University of Colorado. h/t halal
In order to meet the religious needs and obligations of students, a room in the Kramer Library was converted into an ad hoc prayer space in Spring 2012.
Foreign, Muslim, Saudi students that is.
According to a sign posted outside
multipurpose Room 318, located east of the rear staircase on the third
floor the library, the space has been converted into “a room for study,
meditation, reflection, and prayer.” It is available on a first-come,
first-serve basis, and each student is limited to 30 minutes.
Efforts to allocate a prayer space for Muslim students to conduct their five mandatory daily prayers were started by student Zaina Abukhdeir.
Abukhdeir, a mathematics and secondary education major, is the chair of the UCCS branch of the Muslim Student Alliance.
Whoever wrote this article didn’t do their due diligence, is intentionally deceiving readers or was lied to. One look at the UCCS website of religious groups and we find that Zaina Abukhdeir is the contact for the Muslim Student Association or MSA. That’s a Muslim Brotherhood-founded, Saudi-funded group that has hosted the Taliban, have alumni on the FBI Most Wanted List and attempted to assassinate George Bush – to name a few highlights.
She began requesting a room specifically
designated for prayer in 2012. Abukhdeir enlisted the help of Anthony
Cordova, director of the MOSAIC Office and CU Opportunity Program, as
well as members of the Saudi Club.
According to documentation presented by
Abukhdeir – including the original proposal for the room and a copy of
the petition submitted to university administration – Teri Switzer, dean
of the Kramer Family Library, approved Room 318 be used for prayer.
Despite the designation of a room for
multi-faith worship, several groups on campus, including the MSA and the
Saudi Club, want a change in the accommodations.
As they open their prayers, they want to defeat the kuffar. Out. Just like the kuffar-free Muslim-only prayer room at the Denver airport.
Answering as the spokesperson for the
Saudi Club, Abdullah Almurayh, a Saudi exchange student attending UCCS
for a Ph.D. in computer science, explained several concerns regarding
the room.
According to the club’s mission statement,
its primary function is to “work as a tool to help new students
communicate with fellow students, so everyone can share their academic,
social, and life experiences and all other resources.”
Additionally, Almurayh indicated the organization exists to provide support for transfer students from Saudi Arabia.
Almurayh’s concerns about the room center
around creating conflict with students that use the room in a
non-religious, studying capacity.
His chief objection was that asking students present to leave so that he could pray would violate their right to use the room.
Another point of contention for Muslim
students, according to Almurayh, is the presence of a large table in the
center of the room, which does not allow for adequate space in the
event that multiple students wish to pray. The room measures 10 feet by
11 feet.
Almurayh said, “The decision makers may not understand what people need to pray.”
He thinks that it would not be appropriate
toward other students to simply pray in open spaces around campus. He
also expressed personal safety concerns for praying publicly.
Sounds like these supremacists would fare better at Al-Azhar University.
Almurayh believes the lack of a prayer
space that meets all the necessary criteria for Muslim students can be a
major consideration for Saudi nationals who are considering attending
UCCS.
Why do we need Saudi students?
Saudi students, through the Saudi Arabian
Cultural Mission (SACM), pay significant tuition fees, both on the state
and national level, to attend.
Again the writer provides no details. How much in fees on both
levels? Why do they pay more? Do they think because they pay more (yet
skate through visa requirements that most other foreigners don’t get)
they are entitled to mosques on campuses? Inquiring minds want to know.
Carol Pacheco, a library technician who
works at the circulation desk, indicated the library staff has not had
any issues with groups trying to use the room at the same time or with
study groups yielding the room to students with religious
considerations.
Pacheco did indicate the door for the room
had been taken off previously due to students misusing the room.
Neither Almurayh nor Abukhdeir indicated the lack of the door was a
major issue.
Abukhdeir stated that the missing door was an important factor in choosing the room, as it results in a more open atmosphere.
Abukhdeir cited the same issues with the
room that Almurayh had mentioned. He suggested specific rooms be
designated for specific prayer times to provide a confirmed place to
pray while at the same time avoid conflicts with other students
attempting to use the same room.
She gave few specifications to the nature
of the rooms, only that they be reserved daily and that “the best places
would be in the library or in the University Center because they are
[more] central.”
Cordova indicated that he would be willing
to work with student groups to allocate a room in future UCCS building
projects, which would be used entirely for prayer.
Taxpayer funded Islamic prayer rooms in future building projects? Saudi-funded perhaps?
Both the Saudi Club and the MSA are registered under UCCS’ list of cultural clubs and not as religious organizations.
Really? The Abukhdeir’s MSA is listed on this UCCS religious clubs page – http://www.uccs.edu/cao/clubs-and-organizations-2013/religious.html.
Other universities in Colorado, including the University of Denver, also have designated spaces for prayer.
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