At the end of next May, Muslim students will no longer have a prayer space on campus, and as the deadline to find new space approaches, students and administrators are disagreeing over who should provide a new one.
For the past two years, Muslim students and faculty have been praying in a room in the basement of Peterson Hall. In May, Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) Morty Yalovsky notified the Students' Society that the lease on the space in Peterson Hall expired on May 31, and that thereafter it would be needed for academic purposes.
In response, SSMU and the Post-Graduate Students' Society have both unanimously passed motions calling on the administration to provide a new prayer space.
"A long-term arrangement needs to be made," said SSMU Vice-President Clubs and Services Sameen Shahid.
"[A prayer site] is crucial for Muslim students," said Sarah Elgazzar, former Muslim Students' Association treasurer. Muslims pray five times daily, often during regular school hours. Without an on-campus prayer site, Muslim students may have to pray at home or in public spaces such as stairwells and libraries-two undesirable options, according to the MSA.
Former MSA president Isam Faik said that more than $40,000 has been invested in making the Peterson Hall space suitable for prayer. In the May letter regarding the lease, the administration offered no suggestion as to where to relocate the prayer space.
MSA President Hani Ezzadeen said McGill should live up to its reputation as a multicultural university and accommodate all students. Concordia University, he said, has two large prayer spaces set aside for Muslim students, both in prime locations.
Yalovsky said the University does not provide space for any specific religious group, but it does have a non-denominational prayer space in the Birks building that Muslims can use. Peterson Hall was meant to be a temporary location until the MSA could find a permanent off-campus location-one similar to the Hillel house on rue Stanley.
Purchasing a location near campus would be costly, MSA members said, and does not seem to be a realistic option. Still, Yalovsky remains "optimistic that the SSMU and the [MSA] will be able to resolve this issue, either within the [Shatner] University Centre or else at a location off campus."
Shahid said that this is not simply a matter of satisfying the MSA, but that the Muslim students at McGill should have the right to practice their religion.
"This is not a student issue," she said. "It's a people issue."
