Media Releases
Emmanuel College to open new Muslim prayer space
January 17, 2013
TORONTO, ON — Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto announces the official opening of a new, dedicated prayer space and special ablution facilities to accommodate the needs of Muslim students at the University of Toronto. The public opening will also include lecture on “Rooting a Canadian-Muslim Identity” given by Dr. Ingrid Mattson, a Canadian Muslim.
What: Opening of new Muslim prayer room and ablution facilities.
Where: 75 Queen’s Park Crescent, Room 119. (By TTC: Museum subway stop)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/dXQXl
When: January 22, 2013, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Who: Dr. Ingrid Mattson, London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College in London, ON.
Background: Emmanuel College created a Muslim studies track within its Master of Pastoral Studies degree in 2012 as part of its commitment to interfaith dialogue.
Emmanuel is providing leadership in developing an example for other schools, colleges, and universities to follow in providing prayer space for Muslim students. “Our Muslim ablution facilities and prayer room provide the only dedicated spaces available on the eastern side of the University of Toronto’s downtown campus,” says Emmanuel’s Principal Mark G. Toulouse. “The response from Muslim students has been heartfelt. They have written spontaneous thank-you notes to us on an old white board that the College had planned to remove as part of its renovation of the prayer space.” Toulouse was so touched by these notes that the school placed a new white board in the room as part of its renovation of the room.
The launch of both the prayer space and the ablution facilities will be celebrated with an address, “Rooting a Canadian-Muslim Identity,” given by Dr. Ingrid Mattson, a Canadian Muslim. Mattson currently holds the London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College in London, ON. She previously directed the first Islamic chaplaincy program at the Hartford Seminary, CT. The lecture is also sponsored by the Tessellate Institute, an independent, non-profit research institute. A reception, co-sponsored by Emmanuel College and the University of Toronto’s Multi-Faith Centre, will follow.
About Emmanuel College: Founded in 1928 and associated with the United Church of Canada, Emmanuel College, is a constituent college of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. Part of the College’s larger vision is to recognize that the concepts of justice, goodness and love are larger than any one particular religion or tradition can fully define. Emmanuel provides a place where dialogue and discussion can thrive in the pursuit of theological enquiry, diversity and social justice.
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For more information, contact:
Katherine Bullock
Coordinator of the Canadian Certificate in Muslim Studies Program
Tel: (416) 813‑4096
katherine.bullock@utoronto.ca