As I may have mentioned in class, I’m currently taking “Religion in Residence” along with “Islamic Traditions.” Along with several other RAs, we discuss ways in which we can make the lessons we learn in our courses applicable to our campus. My perspective has been primarily through an RA lens and how I could make my floor more inclusive. However, I’d like to get more non-RA opinions on how we can make campus, as a whole, a more inclusive and equitable space for students. Since we’re in Islamic Traditions, I’d love if you could comment based on what we’ve learned together.
For example, a topic that’s come up a lot in our class is maybe having food accommodations during Ramadan. We’ve also talked about how to make the area in which Muslim students are encouraged to pray in the MultiCulti Center feel less like a closet. I’d really appreciate any other insight!
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4 thoughts on “Islamic Traditions @ Muhlenberg”
stabakha
I think we should also incorporate days off for students that are celebrating holidays other than Jewish and Christian holidays. I believe the Lehigh Valley as a whole should incorporate Muslim holidays into the school calendar because many are feeling pushed out from celebrating their holiday. It should be unfair that a Muslim who celebrates an Islamic Holiday can not that day because of a class or a job.
jrlengen in reply to stabakha
I completely agree with this proposition. To be honest, it’s completely ridiculous that the only holidays incorporated into the standard calendar are only Christian and Jewish for the most part. We definitely need to make Muhlenberg higher ups aware of this, as well making it known to political officials that this is inconsiderate of our Muslim brothers and sisters.
ademaio in reply to stabakha
I completely agree this is ridiculous. Of course, we can not miss work or school for everything, but we have to become more accommodating to these minority and lesser represented groups if we want to be inclusive and unite as a corporation, floor, university, or any other group.
afshamim
Hi Michelle,
This is a great idea and I think it’s amazing that this class has given you the opportunity to bring forward accommodations for Muslim students on campus. From my perspective as a Muslim student at Muhlenberg, I think efforts to improve the prayer space would be very appreciated, however I am wondering if these efforts will make a real difference. I think it may be beneficial to somehow get a survey out to the (very few) Muslim students on campus to see if this would be worth it. I say this because there is a mosque quite nearby and it may just be easier for people to pray in their own rooms or something. I may be wrong however, and it may be really well received as well.
With respect to your other idea… I think that may be something that would significantly benefit some of the Muslims on campus. Being in college while also fasting can be extremely difficult, especially being on a campus like Muhlenberg where the food options, although very impressive, may not necessarily match up with the time frame that the Muslim students may need. Once again, I think it may be beneficial if you could somehow survey the Muslim students on campus to see if this idea would really be worth pursuing? In my own opinion though, I think this would be much more fruitful than improving the prayer room.
I am not sure exactly how this survey thing could work out, but I think it would be very interesting to hear from other Muslim students on campus! I’m also curious to see how many there really are… my guess would be less than 15-20. And how many of those would be benefitted by your efforts would also be an interesting question.
I hope this feedback helps you in your efforts!