(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A London university Muslim students have raised concerns after being forced for the second week to pray in the rain in protest against inadequate resources for Muslim prayers on their campus.
"We really believe it's the university's responsibility," Queen Mary Student Union president Sarah Sarwar told The Independent.
Progress in negotiations has been "positive so far."
Sarwar joined hundreds of students last Friday to pray outside for the second time in two weeks.
Accounting for 20 percent of the student body, the college's 20-year-old Islamic Society had been able to book several large communal spaces for congregational Friday prayers.
But from the start of this academic year, students have been told the rooms are unavailable.
The prayer, attended by 350 Muslim students, dared the rain to protest the university’s inadequate resources for Muslims on their Mile End campus.
Principal Professor Simon Gaskell suggested students attend local mosques for the mass prayer, and denied any change in policy.
"We say we're here to accommodate private acts of worship... like most universities we are very pressed for resources," said the Principal, adding that the facilities are unavailable due to demand.
The claims were dismissed by Muslim students, saying that they carried out spot checks on the Great Hall and Octagon, rooms they were told were unavailable for booking, only to find them empty.
They also say that local mosques are oversubscribed.
Britain is home to a sizable Muslim minority, estimated at nearly 2.5 million.
No Facilities
Muslim student urged the university officials to offer proper facilities for prayers, describing the overcrowding of university-provided prayer rooms on Fridays where the stairs and hallways are rammed.
"We are grateful for what the university has provided," said Awo Abib, who graduated last July, "but the facilities don't reflect the demographic."
Alamgir Islaam, the president of Islamic Society of Queen Mary University, said that the university campus should be inclusive to all faiths.
"In order for the university to be in accordance with their claim to be inclusive to all faiths... they must take into consideration that this prayer must be performed in a certain way," Islaam said after leading Friday’s prayers.
There are 400,000 Muslim students in British schools, according to the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).
There are nearly 90,000 Muslim students studying in higher education institutions in the European country.
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