Northwestern Muslim Prayer Space Rejected
Charles Johnson
Fri Feb 23, 2007 at 7:47 am PST • Views: 428
At Northwestern University, a request from Muslim students for the school to set up a prayer room at the football stadium has been denied: Muslims’ Request For Space Rejected. (Hat tip: LGF readers.)
Athletic officials will not establish a designated prayer space for Muslim students at sporting events held at Ryan Field and Welsh-Ryan Arena, said John Mack, Northwestern’s associate athletic director of external affairs.
Instead, officials will grant certain concessions, such as allowing prayer rugs into the stadiums and letting students pray in places that do not block traffic flow.
The decision came after Muslim students expressed a need for clean prayer areas in January. Associated Student Government passed a resolution asking the athletic department to meet with the Muslim-cultural Students Association to explore possible accommodations.
Mack met with Muslim students, ASG representatives and the university chaplain last month, and informed them in an e-mail last week of the athletic department’s decision. “I thought the meeting was productive,” Mack said. “It was a good compromise for both sides.”
Hibah Yousuf, McSA’s ASG senator, said the decision was suitable, but not ideal.
In other words, they’re not finished with this yet; they don’t have their prayer room.
It’s interesting how the radical front group calling itself Muslim Students Association at this school has added the word “cultural” to their name, and in lower case. Are these groups trying to avoid giving the impression that they’re all working together?
Frank says: