US college launches center to highlight Muslim American experience
A college in the US state of Arizona has launched a new center that focuses on the experience and contributions of Muslims in the country.
The Center of Muslim Experience in the United States by Arizona State University “will facilitate belonging for Muslim students” and “work to build mutually beneficial partnerships between Muslim communities across the country and university”, the university said in a press release on Monday.
“The Muslim contribution to world history and culture would be difficult to overstate – and the Muslim experience in the United States has helped to shape the nation,” Jeffrey Cohen, ASU’s dean of humanities, said in a statement.
The university, which boasts a total enrollment of more than 70,000, is also home to more than 8,000 Muslim students, faculty and staff.
The center will host a variety of events including poetry readings and will invite inspirational speakers and writers to ASU for public events.
“By creating a space for students to share their own stories, both Muslim and non-Muslim students will benefit from knowing one another and learning to appreciate that socio-cultural differences can benefit improved community-building locally,” said Chad Haines, co-director of the new centre.
It will also host a years-long, student-run academic study to document the Muslim experience specific to the city of Phoenix, the capital of Arizona.
The exact population of Arizona’s Muslim community is unclear, and various reports from local news outlets have pinned the number at anywhere from 50,000 to 120,000.
