Meditation room in community college

[Vance R. Koven]

The (private) college my son attended erected a meditation room in lieu of a
chapel, but it was completely bare of permanent fixtures, other than
carpeting (a good idea if you want to go barefoot in northern Ohio). Any
furniture or other props had to be moved in and out for any particular
worship occasion. Otherwise, it was left bare for general meditative use. No
Muslim students (of whom there were some, and who were consulted when the
space was being designed) objected or requested special treatment, and
arranged themselves for formal worship as they saw fit.

Being private, of course, this college could do as it pleased, but this was,
I thought, an elegant solution to the "each faith its own chapel" argument,
as well as a reasonable means of conserving resources. This approach is
permissible in a private institution, but I would think it would be required
in a public one if the "each faith its own chapel" syndrome is to be avoided
and public funds not spent to promote particular sects.  Having permanent
fixtures and omnipresent literature applicable to only one religion does
indeed make this Bloomington room a mosque, and to say that others may go in
(may they really? I had thought Islam doesn't permit infidels to attend
services) is totally disingenuous. Anyone entering such a space would be
pervasively impressed with his or her status as an interloper in someone
else's religion. That is to say, it establishes a coercive environment as
much as having a permanent crucifix and stations of the cross would do. Even
if you ignore Lemon, this arrangement flunks whatever coercion test is
floated to take its place.

On Dec 17, 2007 1:13 PM, Esenberg, Richard <richard.esenberg at marquette.edu>
wrote:

> It seems to fit uneasily into the Lamb's Chapel trilogy and hard to
> reconcile with either Lemon neutrality or notions of nonendorsement.
>
> Maybe it's an tougher case if the Islamic literature is not permitted in
> the room when Muslim students are not using it (or, perhaps, if other
> literature is also permitted), but the school hasn't simply made a facility
> available for religious uses, it has constructed the space to accommodate
> use by one particular religion. If you are willing to permit this, I don't
> know why you also wouldn't permit modification of a room to include an
> altar, baptismal font or even a crucifix.
>
> Unless it outfits other rooms for other faiths, I would imagine that a
> court would find that the modification of the room and the enforcement of
> rules (the removal of shoes) that mark it as an Islamic space lack a secular
> purpose and advance Islam. I would expect a judge to conclude that a
> reasonable observer would conclude that the school has endorsed Islam.
>
> The problem here is not what permitting Islamic worship but acting in a
> way that marks the space as one for Islamic worship.
>
> I am not a fan of either Lemon or nonendorsement but that's how I'd guess
> this would sort out.
>
> Rick Esenberg
> >
> > Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
> >
> > Marquette University Law School
> >
> > Sensenbrenner Hall
> >
> > 1103 W. Wisconsin Avenue
> >
> > Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
> >
> > (o) 414-288-6908
> >
> > (m)414-213-3957
> >
> > richard.esenberg at marquette.edu
> >
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu [
> religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Volokh, Eugene [
> VOLOKH at law.ucla.edu]
> Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 11:14 AM
> To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics
> Subject: Meditation room in community college
>
> Any thoughts on the story?  My sense is that this would be permissible
> if the room were open to all student groups (or at least all student
> groups that are religious or antireligious), even if it turned out that
> other groups had no inclination to use it.  But I'd love to hear what
> others think.  Thanks,
>
> Eugene
>
> http://www.startribune.com/featuredColumns/12551256.html
>
> ...
>
> Last week, I visited a Muslim place of worship. A schedule for Islam's
> five daily prayers was posted at the entrance, near a sign requesting
> that shoes be removed. Inside, a barrier divided men's and women's
> prayer space, an arrow informed worshippers of the direction of Mecca,
> and literature urged women to cover their faces.
>
> Sound like a mosque?
>
> The place I'm describing is the "meditation room" at Normandale
> Community College, a 9,200-student public institution in Bloomington.
>
> Until recently, the room was the school's only usable racquetball court.
> College administrators converted the court into a meditation room when
> construction forced closure of the previous meditation room.
>
> A row of chest-high barriers splits the room into sex-segregated
> sections. In the smaller, enclosed area for women sits a pile of shawls
> and head-coverings. Literature titled "Hijaab [covering] and Modesty"
> was prominently placed there, instructing women on proper Islamic
> behavior.
>
> They should cover their faces and stay at home, it said, and their
> speech should not "be such that it is heard."
>
> "Enter into Islaam completely and accept all the rulings of Islaam," the
> tract read in part. "It should not be that you accept what entertains
> your desires and leave what opposes your desires; this is from the
> manners of the Jews."
>
> "[T]he Jews and the Christians" are described as "the enemies of
> Allaah's religion." The document adds: "Remember that you will never
> succeed while you follow these people."
>
> A poster on the room's door advertised a local lecture on "marriage from
> an Islamic perspective," with "useful tips for marital harmony from the
> Prophet's ... life." Other fliers invited students to join the
> Normandale Islamic Forum, or participate in Ramadan celebrations.
>
> One thing was missing from the meditation room: evidence of any faith
> but Islam. No Bible, no crucifix, no Torah....
>
> Despite the room's Islamic atmosphere, [Dean of Student Affairs Ralph]
> Anderson says it "is open to everyone." ...
>
> _______________________________________________
> To post, send message to Religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see
> http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw
>
> Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as
> private.  Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are
> posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or
> wrongly) forward the messages to others.
> _______________________________________________
> To post, send message to Religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see
> http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw
>
> Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as
> private.  Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are
> posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or
> wrongly) forward the messages to others.
>



-- 
Vance R. Koven
Boston, MA USA
vrkoven at world.std.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/religionlaw/attachments/20071217/913abe60/attachment.htm