MUSC establishes multifaith prayer and meditation room for staff, students and faculty

MUSC students, staff and faculty now have a pair of dedicated non-denominational spaces on the Charleston campus where they can pray and meditate.

The multifaith meditation and prayer rooms, located in Building F, rooms 213C and 213D, at 280 Calhoun Street, offer spaces for members of the MUSC community to have quiet, personal moments of reflection during the day.

The rooms, which are available for use by anyone on campus, now exist following a multiyear effort led by the MUSC Muslim Student Association (MSA), which sought to establish such spaces for prayer and meditation. Use of the space was finalized this spring, following discussions between the MSA and the Office of Student Engagement with facilitation by the Center for Global Health.

Each religion has its own unique set of practices and traditions. The Islamic faith, for instance, includes five daily prayers, known as Salah, three of which occur during a standard business or school day. MSA President Mohamed Faisal Kassir, a student in the MSTP (M.D.-Ph.D.) program, said that until now, individuals seeking a dedicated space for prayer or personal reflection largely needed to use the University Hospital Chapel, which is on the fourth floor (Room 462) and shared with all individuals in that medical facility.

“The hospital staff was always very nice about it and super accommodating, but we also didn’t want to be using the space and potentially taking it away from its original purpose, which is for patients and their families,” he explained.

While the MSA led the way in advocating for the space, Kassir stressed that the space is open to individuals of all faiths and backgrounds and welcomes anyone looking for a quiet space to reflect. He mentioned that the rooms are being used fairly frequently, including a dedicated weekly timeslot on Friday afternoons reserved by the MSA for a small congregational prayer.

“It’s kind of like a group prayer where a person will say a few words, like providing advice or a religious teaching, and then we say a prayer,” he said. “Every prayer is like five minutes, so it isn’t a huge chunk of the day, but it still really means a lot to the community to have a dedicated space like this.”

Kassir expressed deep appreciation for the academic and staff leadership who supported the initiative, which included Lisa Saladin, PT, Ph.D., executive vice president for Academic Affairs and provost, and Georgette “Gigi” Smith, R.N., Ph.D., associate provost for Education Innovation and Student Life, with support from Rebeca Mueller, Health, Safety and Cultural Affairs manager at the Center for Global Health.

Mueller, who frequently works with MUSC international students representing a wide array of cultures and ethnic backgrounds, is pleased to see the University establish a communal space that can be shared by all.

“Having worked with student groups for over six years to bring this important multifaith room to fruition makes attaining this important addition to MUSC campus that much sweeter,” Mueller said. “I’m so proud of our students for helping to achieve this for our campus, and we are so appreciative of Drs. Saladin and Smith and the rest of MUSC leadership for supporting this initiative.”

To reserve the multifaith meditation and prayer room, please visit the MUSC 25Live website. From the dropdown menu, select “Multifaith Meditation/Prayer,” choose an open date and time and submit the online form.

Guidelines for using the Multifaith Meditation and Prayer rooms

Building F in the MUSC Quad is located at 280 Calhoun Street, next to Baruch Auditorium. The capacity of the multifaith meditation and prayer rooms vary: Room 213c can accommodate seven people, and Room 213d can accommodate four. Per the Office of Student Engagement, the following are the rules for using the rooms:

• Keep the room clean and tidy.
• No food or drink.
• The capacity for each room is listed and must be followed by the Charleston Fire Department.
• This room is for meditation/prayer only and not for activities like yoga, dance, sleeping, listening to music, studying or similar activities that are not meditation/prayer.
• Housekeeping will be in the rooms at various times to empty garbage and check on the room.