The Office of Religious Life (ORL) plans to start the search to hire a Muslim chaplain this month. For the first time in its history, the Muslim community on campus will have a full-time religious leader to give advice and help conduct religious services.
After the one-year contract with the first Muslim chaplain, Khalid Latif, expired this summer, ORL Dean Alison Boden, who came to the University over the summer as a replacement for Thomas Breidenthal, said she is "moving as quickly as possible to replace him."
Latif was appointed in April as a member of the New York Police Department's chaplains' unit. He will continue to serve as the part-time chaplain of the Islamic Center at NYU. Boden said Latif had already lined up the job when he started at the University.
Boden described his tenure at the University as a very successful year. "At the beginning, there were only a handful of students in his original project, but by the end of the year there were 10 times as many visiting," she said.
Muslim students expressed regret over Latif's departure from campus. Sarah Dajani '09, president of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), said Latif had a "really nice presence" and was a "very educated, moderate and responsible" person. Dajani is also a columnist for The Daily Princetonian.
Hanaa Rohman '10, vice president of the MSA and a photographer for The Daily Princetonian stressed his role in coordinating the Muslim-Jewish dialogue.
Lubna Malik '08, former president of the MSA, said that with approximately 50 active students and a "constantly growing Muslim community," the MSA feels a pressing need for more institutionalized religious organization on campus.
Malik said there are many students who "come to campus and are used to going to mosque" but then stop doing so because they do not have a car to drive to services.
Malik said students need a chaplain who is available to students on a daily basis. Latif split his time between the part-time chaplain positions at Princeton and NYU and the pursuit of his master's degree at the Hartford Theological Seminary.
"He was extremely busy," Malik said. "It was a bit frustrating because he was rarely on campus."
With Muslim students celebrating the holy month of Ramadan and fasting during the day, Rahmani said it would be "really beneficial and a lot nicer to have a chaplain reading during the prayer." Students have found it difficult to prepare a good Friday sermon in addition to completing their coursework and extracurricular activities.
Though students await a new chaplain, Dajani said the Muslim community "is coping well, the same way it has coped before we got a chaplain."
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