Muslim prayer room is against secular values claims City University

City University students at prayer

Some Muslim students at City University in London are praying in the street in a row over prayer room facilities. The university says it goes against its philosophy to provide a room for just Islamic students.

“We felt that the provision of a dedicated prayer facility to a sub-section of our Islamic students did not fit with our university’s values,” said Professor Julius Weinberg, who is the acting vice-chancellor at City University.

“We’re a secular organisation. Our university values statement says that we will not discriminate and having a dedicated prayer room actually went fundamentally against the core values of the organisation.”

BBC News, 1 April 2010