Faith in the future

The NYU Islamic Center held its first major fundraiser at Rutgers University yesterday, adding $10,000 to their campaign to raise $8 million for a new prayer space on campus.

The group, which has existed at NYU for 25 years, has been looking for a new space since their lease with the Thompson Center ended in the summer of 2003.

Student were charged $20 and regular admission was $30.

About 200 people showed up to the fundraiser from Mission Masjid, a group who aims to unite the Muslim community in New York City.

Two prominent Muslim scholars, Imam Zaid Shakir and Shaykh Abdullah Adhami, spoke about the importance of physical institutions being the focal point in communal life.

"We need to develop human institutions that reflect our resources and strength," Shakir said. "Our mosques should be focal points in that effort, our mosques should be the place where we could feel comfortable."

With the fundraiser titled "Building a Faith...Building a Future," the Muslim community is looking to do just that.

"The idea in terms of establishing a community is not just about putting up a structure," said NYU alumnus Khalid Latif, a fundraiser organizer and former Islamic Center president. "We don't want just a prayer space. We want a community center where we can build our faith as well."

The university plans to build a spiritual center for students of all faiths, said Debra LaMorte, senior vice president of alumni affairs and university development. There are 28 religious groups on campus, she said.

"We think that prayer for all religious groups is important and so we foster, or want to be able to foster, every religious groups' ability to express themselves," LaMorte said.

Other NYU administrators say they are sympathetic to the cause - some are even helping to guide the campaign.

"At the end of the day I hope the students have a place where they can celebrate their spiritual beliefs," said Nancy Morrison, assistant vice president for student affairs, said.

Marc Wais, vice president of student affairs, has been involved with the Islamic Center's campaign since the beginning.

"Staff in the university's development office and student affairs are advising and assisting the Islamic Center in their fundraising efforts," he said.

The university is looking for donors who will potentially give a $20 million to $25 million gift to help create the spiritual center.

The Islamic Center, located in the basement of the Thompson Center, was originally allotted to students for daily prayers as temporary assistance during the interim period when the Loeb Center was torn down and Kimmel was being built. It has been a place for prayer, worship and recreation for Muslim students on campus for seven years. But with the lease expiring in mid-May, Muslim students are working hard to secure their own space.

Zainab Wasti, an NYU alumna, who also helped organize the event said that the Islamic Center is important to her "because it provides a home, a community for people who feel otherwise overwhelmed going to a school as large as NYU."

"It brings together people from every ethnicity and background under the banner of Islam," she said.

Many Muslim students are eager to gather in a space of their own.

"I really hope that people show their support, learn more about our community at NYU and want to help us out." said Masooma Hussain, a CAS Junior and secretary of the Islamic Center at NYU. "The incoming students are going to need this more than us. We're going to graduate - we're not going to be here." €¢