UWARUNKOWANIA INSTYTUCJONALNE I NORMATYWNE TWORZENIA POKOI DO MODLITWY DLA MUZUŁMANÓW NA POLSKICH UCZELNIACH
INSTITUTIONAL AND NORMATIVE CONDITIONS FOR THE CREATION OF PRAYER ROOMS FOR MUSLIMS AT POLISH UNIVERSITIES

Summary/Abstract: Spaces for people with special needs due to neurodiversity or cultural, including religious, differences have a long tradition at Western universities. These include rooms for tranquility, meditation or prayer. Taking into account the special needs of the growing number of students is an implementation of the principle of equal opportunities at universities. The purpose of this article is to assess the possibilities for Muslims studying at Polish universities to say prayers, and to diagnose how Polish universities respond to the demands for prayer rooms and the context in which these demands are placed. For the purpose of the article, a two-stage qualitative study was conducted. First, an exploratory study identified Polish universities with rooms for people with special needs, then semi-structured individual in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of these universities. The survey found that most Polish universities have neither places of worship for one religion nor common spaces for religious purposes. The road to the creation of a room of silence or a meditation room at Polish universities usually begins with understanding and meeting the needs of people with disabilities, followed by neuroatypical people. Good practices of foreign universities play a big role in this context. As for prayer rooms for Muslims, except for two cases, no one at the universities raised such an issue.

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