Alumni remember breaking fasts in the "dungeons" of the Chapel in the 1960s and 70s, Muslim chaplain Abdullah Antepli said. But now, instead of a small room in the basement of the Bryan Center, members of the Muslim community will be able to congregate at the new facility, Muslim Life at Duke University center.
The center, located at 406 Swift Ave., officially opened Thursday with a ceremony that was free and open to the public.
"We never thought we would be able to get something here so fast," said senior Fatema Ahmad, co-president of the Muslim Students Association. "It was always 10 years down the line, when we get on our feet.... We are just incredibly grateful to have this beginning."
The ceremony began with a call to prayer and readings from the Quran. Ahmad gave opening remarks and introduced the speakers, who included Antepli, Dean of the Chapel Sam Wells, Zoila Airall, assistant vice president for student affairs and Bruce Lawrence, director of the Islamic Studies Center and professor of religion.
Following the speakers, Jalees Afzal, chair of the Islamic Association of Raleigh, presented President Richard Brodhead with a plaque commending the University's support for its Muslim community. Afzal also donated $2,000 toward Muslim Life and gave Brodhead a copy of the Quran.
Brodhead then spoke, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony commenced the opening of the facility.
"Duke began as a one-room schoolhouse in rural North Carolina," Brodhead said in an interview with The Chronicle. "Between then and now we've become a school for the new world. As our reach changes, our population changes-and we change to recognize that."
In addition to thanking the administration, Ahmad said Antepli, "our Turkish delight," played a key role in securing the new location. Many others, including Brodhead, praised Antepli for his efforts.
"I know many universities had searches for a chaplain," Brodhead said in the interview. "Everyone wanted Antepli. And now that we have him, we understand why."
Duke is only one of four American universities to have a full-time Muslim chaplain. The others are Georgetown University, Princeton University and Yale University.
So few schools have full-time chaplains in part because the Muslim presence on college campuses is a new phenomenon, Antepli said. Since the 1990s, the number of Muslims on college campuses has increased, and universities are now trying to keep pace, he added.
Although the Muslim population at Duke-which Antepli estimates to be between 520 and 530 students-is not particularly large, it is one of the most active nationwide, he said.
Students said the center will host weekly gatherings and cultural and religious events. It will also function as a place for Muslim students to bond with one another.
"It's nice to have a place on campus to get away from the hook-up culture," freshman Nabil Enayet said. "It's more of a place where we can keep a Muslim atmosphere."
But the center will also be open to the rest of the University community.
"Even though it's called Muslim Life at Duke I feel like it's a resource for the whole campus," freshman Nusaibah Kofar-Naisa said.
Junior Jonathan Cross said he attended the event because it fell within his course of study as a double major in religion and Arabic with a certificate in Islamic Studies. He added that the United States does not place enough emphasis on properly understanding the Middle East.
Benjamin Reese, vice president for institutional equity, said the new facility will help the University strengthen its ties to both the internal community and Durham.
Wells said the success of the Muslim population at Duke is profitable to the University as a whole.
"We are here today for one simple reason," Wells said. "We, Duke University, realize we can't be all that we can be without you, Muslim community.... Your celebration is our celebration. We thank God you are here."
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