OUISOC Prayer Room

We are writing primarily on behalf of the members of Oxford University Islamic Society, as well as the wider body of Muslim students at Oxford University. The Islamic Society wishes to draw the Universitys attention to the problems that Muslims are facing as a result of not having adequate prayer facilities, and how both the current and the proposed future arrangements do not address them:

The Islamic Society wishes to express its concerns about the detrimental effects the lack of a prayer room is having on the academic work of Oxfords Muslim students. These detrimental effects have led some Muslim Students to pray in libraries and other public places, which is uncomfortable for others using the public place, and is undesirable for the person offering the prayers.

The inadequacy of the current situation is essentially caused by the fact that the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (which contains a prayer room that we are currently using) is only open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday.

Studying at Oxford entails reading in libraries and university departments for long periods on both evenings and weekends. This poses a major problem for Muslim students as they have no prayer facilities at all at these times. Furthermore, during the week, many students have tutorials and classes after 5pm. Other students, Medical students especially, sometimes have lectures after 5pm. Even when they are not attending a scheduled class or lecture, most students read at the Bodleian Library for many hours past 5pm.

The proposed relocation of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies to Marston in 2006 will exacerbate (the already significant) problems for Muslim students, as they will no longer even possess a central prayer venue during the day. The requirement of proximity is especially vital for students with many scheduled hours of lectures and laboratory work, who cannot afford the time to make the journey. This will force them to compromise their academic work, or to resort to praying in public places.

A prayer room can perform an important function by acting as a meeting point for Muslim students.