Cornell Establishes First Cultural Center for Muslim Students
After spending about two years gaining University approval and securing a home, the Muslim community is celebrating the recent establishment of a Muslim cultural center — the first of its kind — at Cornell.
The center — which has been under consideration since 2010 — was established in January after “countless meetings” with several University administrators, according to Nayab Mahmood, internal vice president of the Committee for the Advancement of Muslim Culture.
“We had to both convince them of the need for such a center and then convince them that it is a priority so that the logistics could be worked out,” she said.
Dean of Students Kent Hubbell ’67 said that although creating the center was “something [he] wanted to do from the outset,” it was difficult to find a space for the center. He added that “students who wanted to make this happen were wonderful. They were patient with us.”
Administrators and students said they began working on plans for the center at the beginning of the semester.
The space — which will be located in 208 Willard Straight Hall — will both “showcase [the] diversity of Muslim culture” and “provide support for anybody identifying with Muslim groups,” according to Ihsan Kabir, president of CAMC, who took part in planning the center.
“The group will provide support for students with any kind of a Muslim background,” Kabir said.
Furthermore, the space will be used to reach out to non-Muslim communities, students said.
Source: The Cornell Daily Sun
“We had to both convince them of the need for such a center and then convince them that it is a priority so that the logistics could be worked out,” she said.
Dean of Students Kent Hubbell ’67 said that although creating the center was “something [he] wanted to do from the outset,” it was difficult to find a space for the center. He added that “students who wanted to make this happen were wonderful. They were patient with us.”
Administrators and students said they began working on plans for the center at the beginning of the semester.
The space — which will be located in 208 Willard Straight Hall — will both “showcase [the] diversity of Muslim culture” and “provide support for anybody identifying with Muslim groups,” according to Ihsan Kabir, president of CAMC, who took part in planning the center.
“The group will provide support for students with any kind of a Muslim background,” Kabir said.
Furthermore, the space will be used to reach out to non-Muslim communities, students said.
Source: The Cornell Daily Sun
