Adam Soltani, president of the Muslim Student Association at the University of Mississippi, published a petition on Change.org on Monday, Sept. 23 in hopes of establishing an improved prayer room at UM.
Soltani initially reached out to university administration on Oct. 24, 2023. Bradley Baker, director of the Ole Miss Student Union, responded to Soltani via email on Dec. 4, 2023.
“At this time, they are extremely tight with space across campus — this includes academic spaces, offices and laboratories,” Baker said via email. “However, (the contact in the Provost’s office) has added the request to her list for discussion at the next campus space meeting.”
Until the petition was publicly released by Soltani, there had not been communication from the university administration regarding a prayer room since the initial email exchange almost a year ago.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, Baker sent the following email in response to the petition.
“Dr. (Brent) Marsh and I will review the petition and discuss the best possible next steps to advocate for your and your organization,” Bradley said. “We will be in touch soon!”
Marsh is assistant vice chancellor and dean of students at UM.
Soltani said the Muslim Student Association does not intend to criticize the university with the petition but rather emphasize the need for a new prayer room with increased capacity on campus.
The current prayer room is located in room 305 of Vardaman Hall.
“This is not a petition to sort of slam the university. I want to make it absolutely clear,” Soltani said. “Right now, I think we have over 250 people that signed it, so I want them to hopefully look at this and know there is really a need.”
Zynub Al-Sherri, a senior public policy and Arabic double major and member of the Muslim Student Association, described why it is seeking a new prayer room.
“The building in general is quite old, and with the prayer room right now, I’d say the biggest problem is the size of it because it’s very small and extremely cramped,” Al-Sherri said. “We often find ourselves praying out in the middle of the hallways. When we did get the prayer room, it wasn’t in the best condition, but we really tried to make the best out of it. Honestly, before last year, no one really used the prayer room or saw it as a resource because it wasn’t in the best of conditions. We didn’t even look at it as an option.”
Al-Sherri described what adjustments students had to make as a result of the conditions of the current prayer room.
“Instead, they would pray at home or in public spaces. What a lot of students would do is to drive all the way home and come back and clean themselves … That’s an hour I could spend studying or doing something else,” Al-Sherri said.
Al-Sherri talked about her own experience.
“Other times, if I was going to miss class doing that, I would have to pray in a public area on campus. … That would make me pretty uncomfortable because I feel like prayers are a really private thing between you and God,” Al-Sherri said. “A lot of students would pass by and give me looks. I’m used to it now, but I know that not everybody feels that way.”
Another concern she raised is that the prayer room is located right beside a unisex bathroom that does not have any doors on its stalls, which affects Muslim women who wear the hijab and limits their ability to perform wudu, a cleansing ritual done before prayer.
“That is one of my main concerns about the prayer room because in Islam, cleanliness and hygiene is very important,” Al-Sherri said. “It isn’t ideal that our prayer room is located right next to a bathroom, but even more so, the bathroom doesn’t have a door (on the stalls).”
After being made aware of the petition, the university’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement has made plans to speak with the UM Muslim Student Association.
“The university strives to create a culture where all students feel welcome and supported,” Jacob Batte, director of news and media relations for the university, said. “The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement recently learned about the petition to expand the prayer room in Vardaman Hall and will reach out to the Muslim Student Association to discuss their needs.”
