When students start university, many don’t hang up their faith before entering; they take it with them, as it’s a part of their life.

When I became a student a few years ago, I was lucky to join a university that has one of the biggest Muslim prayer rooms. The university did not, however, automatically give these rooms to us. Past Muslim students had to go through a number of years praying in a caravan, in a car park, before then progressing to book rooms for prayers. The journey from praying in a caravan to praying on a luxury Turkish prayer carpet took 12 years.

For Muslims, it is compulsory to pray five times a day. These prayers are not words that can be said whilst walking in the street or in a lecture hall; these are physical prayers that consist of prostrating and kneeling to God. During the majority of term time, four out of the five prayers occur whilst a student is still at uni and thus need a place to pray. Many universities do have dedicated prayer rooms, separate for males and females, some have a single room for both males and females and some have no rooms at all. Students still have to book out seminar rooms. This should not be, more and more Muslims are attending universities, be they home students or international students.

Other problem Muslim students are facing with prayer rooms are not that they don’t have one, but rather they are losing the room. This is happening across a number of campuses across the UK. Students’ Unions can play a vital role in helping their members to be able to secure the room or provide alternatives. For more information on the prayer room campaign contact me or Ciaran Norris.

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