Dr. Bullock said the Muslim prayer room includes separate ablution facilities– special washing facilities used before prayer – for men and women, new carpets and a refurbished ceiling, and a wall so that worshippers are not disturbed when people come into the room. Emmanuel College and Victoria University covered the approximately $70,000 cost of preparing the ablution facilities and various sources in the Muslim community - including the Canadian Jaffari Muslim Foundation*, the Islamic Foundation of Toronto, the Islamic Institute of Toronto, the Muslim Chaplaincy, and the Muslim Students Association of the University of Toronto** – donated the approximately $25,000 to renovate the prayer room.
Mark Toulouse, Principal of Emmanuel College and Professor of the course The History of Christianity at Emmanuel College, said the University of Toronto has a large number of graduate and undergraduate Muslim students at its St. George Campus; and while there are multiple prayer facilities on the west side of the campus, the east side didn't have any.
“It's significant to provide a prayer room for Muslim students. As an interfaith school, we want to show how important these relationships are. This theological school is historically Christian, but we want dialogue with other faiths to show how much we respect them. Prayer is very important to the daily exercise of the practice of Islam, so we need to provide space for their religious practices. Hospitality is most important.”...There's a point at which "hospitality" veers into rank dhimmitude. It appears Prof. Toulouse has reached it.
*the Khomeinists
**the MuBros
No comments:
Post a Comment