The Muslim Student Association successfully lobbied the Student Association Senate Tuesday night to approve a Senate resolution calling for “support and aid in research for the creation of a Muslim Student Center on the Foggy Bottom Campus.”

A number of MSA members voiced their concerns to the Senate about a lack of space for MSA functions at the meeting.

Amina Chaudary, president of the Muslim Student Association and the undergraduate at-large senator who sponsored the bill, said, “Proportionally every year, the number of Muslim students grows.”

The resulting need for a center is clear, she said.

Omer Abdul Rehman, an MSA member and the freshman representative for the American Islamic Medical Association, said there is a “dire need” for the center.

“It is very important that we provide something on campus,” he said.

In particular, the students would like a place to conduct Friday prayer, which often exceeds 200 students. It is located in Western Presbyterian Church. The MSA also holds daily prayer in its Marvin Center office location.

“Prayer is a very big part of our lifestyle,” said Sabina Siddiqui, a senior MSA member. “Congregating is just as vital as the praying.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Dan Becker, the School of Public Health and Health Services graduate senator who also sponsored the bill. “There’s a large Muslim student population. They contribute a lot of resources.”

An exploratory committee on the new center will be formed in the next week.

SA note:- In other SA Senate business, Erik Telleene was unanimously approved to fill the graduate senator seat for the Elliott School of International Affairs. Telleene is a first-year graduate student from Chicago.

-Zeb Eckert