By Sama Abduljawad

Since friday, January 16th, Friday prayers have been held in the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) mosque for students and faculty members in Education City (EC).

“I have been attending the Friday prayers at QFIS for the past two weeks,” said Abdul Rafey Siddiqui, a sophomore at Texas A&M University in Qatar. “It is definitely a positive change for me, since this mosque is within Education City.”

Students raised concerns however over the fact that the khutba (sermon after the prayer) was originally given only in Arabic.  According to an email received by students living in the residence halls from Housing and Residence Life (HRL), the institution has addressed this problem and the sermon will now also be translated for non-Arabic speaking students.

“To ensure that everyone is benefiting, khutba will be briefly translated in English and will be presented after Jumah [Friday] prayer by one of your colleagues,” said the email.

Attending Friday prayers is an important part of Muslim practice, and therefore, prior to prayers being held at QFIS, students who wished to attend the Friday prayers had to pray at mosques outside Education City.

“I used to go to the Arabic mosque, which is a 15 minute drive from here [Education City],” said Siddiqui. “My friends and I often used to miss the prayers because we would wake up slightly late and the bus for the mosque would leave at 11:15, sometimes earlier, and there would be no other way to get to the mosque. But now since the mosque is so much closer, we can easily make it in time. Plus it is spacious and beautiful.”

The convenience of having a mosque within EC is one that both students living on campus and off campus have benefited from. Aamer Hassan, a sophomore at Northwestern University in Qatar who lives off campus, says he can now study on campus more conveniently during the weekend.

“Before the Friday prayers were happening at QFIS, I would either have to leave campus and find a different mosque to pray in, or start my work later on in the day. Now I can study and practice my religion more easily, which I think is a beautiful thing,” said Hassan.

Faculty or staff at QFIS could not be reached for comment on this story.

Below is the bus schedule for students who wish to attend the Friday Prayers and want to be picked up or dropped off from the residence halls.

1.       Pick up from residence halls (20) minutes before Jumah Athan/Kutbah

2.       Pick up from residence halls (10) minutes before Jumah Athan/Kutbah

3.       Drop off back to residence halls (10) minutes after Jumah prayer

4.       Drop off back to residence (20) minutes after Jumah prayer