ONE WORLD RELIGION WATCH: "Catholic" university opens sex-segregated prayer space for Muslim students
Prayer room designed in spirit of ‘interfaith education’
The prayer room, developed by a senior of St. Ambrose University in collaboration with its Saudi Student Association, is designed “specifically for students of the Islamic faith,” according to a report on local NPR station WVIK.
The room features ” sinks for ritual foot-washing,” as well as “separate areas for male and female worshippers, since Islamic tradition calls for different prayer areas for each sex.”
Matt Mahoney, the St. Ambrose senior who helped design the room, called the prayer space “outstanding.”
“It’s uniquely Ambrosian, and it just sort of shows our commitment to all different faiths,” Mahoney said of the sex-segregated worship room.
The project was created in honor of Joe DeFrancisco, a St. Ambrose religion professor who died last year.
Read the NPR report here.
