Last Friday afternoon, as they are every week, two large prayer rugs were rolled out onto the floor of an airy room on the second level of the Interfaith Center on Boston Avenue. A collection of Muslim students at Tufts −− both graduate and undergraduate −− trickled in, kicking off their shoes and finding a place on the rug as an imam chanted the first of two calls to prayer which are a staple in the traditional Friday congregational worship mandatory for Muslim men.
As the worshippers touched their foreheads to the ground or sat cross−legged, two smaller, wide−eyed faces poked up over the bowed heads. The weekly Friday prayer service is sponsored and organized by the Tufts Chaplaincy in coordination with the Muslim Students Association (MSA), but it is also open to all and welcomes members of the local community and, at least today, their small children.
Approximately 40 men eventually found a space on the rug and prayed along with the four women sitting behind them, standing and kneeling before the sermon began.
On what sophomore Sabrina Ghaus called a "pretty globally aware" campus, members of the Muslim community say that a finding a niche on the Hill, and acceptance among their peers, is easily done.
"I think for many reasons … on this campus there's been a very open, warm environment in terms of practicing religion, whereas in other parts of the world it's not met with such kind reception," Belal Hakim, a senior and vice president of religious affairs for the MSA, said.
"In terms of being able to practice my faith in the way that I want to, I don't feel any limitations; I don't feel any negative consequences," Hakim added.
The students who come to the weekly Friday prayer services at the Interfaith Center represent the community of Tufts Muslims who most strictly follow the principal tenets of Islam, according to Muslim Chaplain NailaBaloch.
"The people who come are pretty committed. There's a small community core that's pretty active, and then people come and go, and it changes every year because new people come in. The Friday prayers are the congregational prayers and they're not compulsory for women; they're only compulsory for men. And then of course there are students who have classes … so sometimes they can't make it. It's hard to judge that in terms of what levels that people practice."
Baloch, who is in her fourth year in the post, said that while the chaplaincy exists to serve Tufts' Muslims, their services and activities are open to anyone who wishes to join.
"It's definitely a student community. We are here for [Tufts], but we welcome other people if they want to come and pray. The people that come from around here are people who work, and it's really easy for them. It helps build some sort of community or community partnership."
For JasminSadegh, a junior, arriving on the Hill for the first time and navigating the world of a college campus was made additionally difficult by the challenge of finding her religious center in a new environment.
"It was so weird when I was a freshman," she said. "First of all, I had to explain to my roommate that I was going to pray and explain to her what that was [and] why I was doing it. That was kind of weird, first having to pray in front of someone. I had people walk in on me freshman year, because, you know, nobody locks their door."
In a larger sense, Sadegh said, the process of finding her religious center away from home made her reassess her relationship with Islam.
"I didn't have my parents around, and we would always pray together so that was a pretty coordinated [thing]," she said. "It became my own responsibility to dictate how I was going to incorporate religion into my life."
"It was … a struggle because I would see all these [sinful] things and it was so … effortless just to follow people and do stupid things. But there came a point where I was like ‘you need to re−center,' because I wasn't happy either. I was much happier when I went to the women's circle and I talked to people and they were always very focused … and more religious than I was. It was always inspiring and it just always felt good to leave there."
Ghaus had a similar experience adjusting in her first year away from home.
"It's a little difficult of course because you're new and you don't know the area. Back home, your parents were the ones who decided what mosque you should go to, where we're going for Eid−− but here you have to make all of those decisions for yourself, where you're comfortable going, what you feel like doing."
"[That's] part of being an adult," Baloch teased.
Having her sister nearby at Wellesley College was helpful, Ghaus said, especially when she was able to celebrate Eid−al−Adha last month at the home mosque of her sister's friend, who lives near Wellesley.
The Chaplaincy doesn't hold Eid services because the holiday is based on the idea of joining a larger community for prayer, Baloch said.
"Everybody congregates in one place," she said. Rather than stay at Tufts, she explained, most students will go to a bigger mosque in the area, from which there are many to choose.
Freshman YoussefBargach agreed that, at least for practical reasons, the separation from home took some getting used to.
"During the week my family would all pray together, so it's a lot more accessible, whereas here you have to do it individually [except] on Fridays [when] we have ... group prayer."
A new schedule hasn't hindered him, though, he said. "I think it's actually easier here, because I lived in Houston so the mosque is fairly far away. I'd have to wait for people to come drive me there. Whereas [here], I live in Bush Hall, so it's not too far away."
For followers of a religion that prohibits the consumption of alcohol, the principal discrepancy for Muslim students on a college campus was the drinking culture they saw among their peers.
"I guess there's definitely certain college activities that a lot of Muslims don't feel comfortable partaking in … like going out and partying every night or drinking," Ghaus said. "In the end you find ways around it; it's not like you can't have fun."
Bargach agreed.
"That's probably the main [restriction] that doesn't fit with people's lives," he said. Some people find it strange … a lot of people who don't drink just choose not to go out. But I can still have a good time without drinking alcohol."
Even on a campus that assumes itself to be culturally aware, Muslim students find that they are prompted to correct common misconceptions about Islam on an unexpectedly frequent basis.
"It's surprising, actually, how many people don't actually know a lot about Islam, especially when there's a really big international awareness on campus. We're generally pretty globally aware, but there's quite a few misconceptions about Islam," Ghaus said.
"I mean, there's the usual," she added. "People are very curious. There's a lot of people who have a lot of questions about things like the hijab and women's rights, and people tend to think that women are all oppressed in Islam. I just tell them what I think … I'm happy to answer questions: It's better that people ask me than just hold it in themselves and not actually get an answer, not get clarifications."
Bargach said he handles misconceptions about Islam in a similar way.
"You have to know the reasons why you're doing it. Once I explain it to … people, [that] I need to have a reason why I'm doing this. With that it's a lot more research and a lot more understanding of the religion so as long as you can explain that to people who are interested. They become less ignorant about the religion."
"What I've seen is that in today's time everyone seems to be an expert on the faith," Hakim added. "The biggest misconception that I've seen is on who can authoritatively speak about Islamic values."
As part of a student community largely hinged on activities and services organized by the MSA, Tufts Muslims have access to practical and spiritual amenities, as well as a supportive group of peers that Hakim said made Muslim life on the Hill easy.
"We have a nice community here so we're able to work with each other and to encourage each other," Hakim said. "[The MSA strives] to have an open environment where anyone would feel comfortable … whether they're practicing Muslims or not, or whether they're Muslims at all or not, we do want everyone to feel comfortable. That's what we want [and] what we strive for."
Along with support provided by the MSA, he added, students have the opportunity to live in the Muslim House and get halal meat, or meat that is ritually fit for use according to Islamic law, at Dewick−MacPhie Dining Hall. This factor keeps Hakim on a meal plan even as a senior, he said.
"It's pretty sweet," he said. "It's a pretty good incentive … so I end up going to Dewick for that anyway, just for that reason. [And] obviously there's a very large seafood and veggie section, and I always eat seafood and veggies, so that's good."
"The MSA here and the chaplaincy do a really good job with … letting people know, you know this is how you get Halal meat, places that you can go to pray," Ghaus said.
For Sadegh, the individuality of the religion is what makes it meaningful for her.
"That's why Islam to me is so beautiful, because it's so simple and you can take it as far as you want to," she said. "I have discussions with people about drinking and smoking, and all that stuff and also about praying five times a day. At some point you [just] want to please your Creator; it's just a feeling."
