Carleton students call for larger Muslim prayer room

Muslim students at Carleton University are petitioning for a larger prayer room. Designated 15 years ago to accommodate daily prayers, the room is capable of comfortably holding 70 people, but twice that number show up every day in recent years. “There’s no space. It’s not even spacious enough to bow down and not hit someone,” one student told the CBC. Another added: “Considering it’s a religious obligation for us, and we have to pray on time, it’s impractical; it’s inconvenient. I mean prayer should be something enjoyable.” While the Muslim Students’ Association has been calling for more space for years, the Carleton administration says space is at a premium and priority is always given for academic purposes. Spokesperson Smita Bharadia said that the university is considering a multi-faith prayer room.