Members of the Muslim Students Association at Tufts (MSAT) are working to expand the Islamic Center, as it can no longer accommodate the Muslim population at Tufts. Dean of Academic Services and Student Affairs Kristine Dillon, Muslim Affiliate Imam Noureddine Hawat, and other members of the administration are helping the students plan an expansion of the Center, which is located in the basement of a house at 176 Curtis Street.
The original prayer area held about 25 people, but the kitchen and office were converted to prayer space as Jumma prayer attendance grew to over 50. The MSAT hopes to establish a new Islamic Center "that could not only meet the demands of Muslims at Tufts but also Muslims in the surrounding communities," according to the group's website. The desired space would accommodate 150 people.
"Our vision for this project is to have one unified presence on campus where all Muslims and non-Muslims can come if they have any questions regarding Islam or would like to gain more knowledge on Islam," former MSAT president Usman Kahn said.
The MSAT has already been offered some on-campus space that could be used as prayer space but would not be dedicated as an Islamic Center. Due to Muslim religious creeds, prayer spaces must follow certain guidelines that the offered space did not satisfy.
The group would like to move to a facility that has two bathrooms with separate washing space for Wudhu, the Muslim practice of achieving cleanliness before prayer. It wants a library to house Islamic books, office space to coordinate outreach programs, a lounge and a kitchen to hold social events, a conference room, and a Muslim house that would provide an Islamic residential environment for both Muslim and non-Muslim students.
Plans for the project at the beginning of the 2001-2002 academic year in response to an increase in the weekly Jumma prayers, which has attracted people from surrounding neighborhoods as well as members of the Tufts community. MSAT president Muzammil Mustufa established the Islamic Center Committee (ICC) to focus on the project.
The ever-growing number of people attending the cramped services has prompted the ICC to speed up the planning process, said Khan. Now a graduate student in electrical engineering, Khan has been working with the MSAT to help with the endeavor.
The committee has met with President Larry Bacow, Provost Sol Gittleman, Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, Vice President of Development Brian Lee, Director of Administration Paul Stanton, and Dillon. Bacow appointed Dillon to act as somewhat of a liaison between the MSAT and the administration.
"It is good for students to know they have someone advocating for them," Dillon said. She described the cooperation between the MSAT and the administration as a system of "mutual support." "We feel very good about the kind of discussion that has been taking place...This is something the University really wants to solve."
While MSAT originally wanted to construct of a new facility, Dillon said that students are now focused on finding an existing campus space to accommodate the expanding center.
"The students are going to continue to try to raise money with the idea that they would like to raise money for a much bigger project in the long term," she said. Until the necessary funds can be raised, however, Dillon said the students would rather concentrate on moving to a larger space than merely waiting for a new facility to be built.
Dillon will be working with representatives from Student Life and Facilities to find available space to house the center. While the possibility of trying to make the current center more accommodating for worshippers has been discussed, Dillon said the cost of doing so would probably not make it worthwhile.
Also being investigated is the possibility of swapping space with another campus group, but Dillon said the impact of such a swap would have to be carefully looked at before any decisions were made.
Students have also been working with the Development Office, which has offered to speak with potential donors to aid in the fundraising process.
Hawat said that Dillon and the other administrators have been very helpful in aiding the project. "When you want to work on any project you need the school support, and the school has tried to support us, but you need some time. It can't happen overnight," he said.
Khan believes a larger space would allow the Islamic Center to increase its presence and role on campus. "We would like this center to be inclusive and not exclusive so that everyone, including non-Muslims, would feel welcome and at ease to approach the center and to take classes or attend events and lectures there," Khan said. "Muslims at Tufts feel very much integrated into the main student body, so any such center would serve to strengthen the bond."
