Founded in the Brethren Church tradition, and professing a core value of Christian values, it can be easy to forget about the other religions present at Ashland University. However, every Friday Muslim students, most of whom are students from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, gather in the student center conference rooms for their Friday prayers.

   There are some situations when the conference rooms are unavailable for the Muslim students, such as last Friday, when the Board of Trustees meeting occupied the rooms. According to Faisal Altimyat, a senior from Saudi Arabia, these situations come up roughly twice a semester, and are announced ahead of time and accommodated.

   “Usually Scott [Parillo, the director of International Student Services] personally emails me or anybody else like a week or a few days earlier and he tells me ‘This Friday you cannot pray here but we reserved the Eagle’s Landing and the rugs will be downstairs,’” Altimyat said. 

   “Students know ahead of time,” Sue Heimann, vice president of Student Affairs, said, “Students don’t go there, they’re not surprised. We’ve had space over in Upper Convo once in the summer.”

   Altimyat said the conference rooms are a good space for their Friday prayer.

   “We just need a big room,” Altimyat said, “We usually have 20-30 people praying. It should be nice and quiet…and we need restrooms because, in order to pray, you need to wash your hands, face and legs.”

   There is also a locked closet in the conference room that holds the prayer rugs needed for prayer.

   For at least the past four years, though, the student center conference rooms have hosted the Friday prayers.

For Muslim students, so long as the conference rooms remain available to use, they will remain satisfied.

“The university is actually doing more than we ask for,” Atimyat said.