America's oldest Catholic university, Georgetown, opens a mosque on campus

The faculty says the temple will serve as a way for its students to "explore the deep commitment" of the university and its traditions regarding faith.

Imagen del interior del Georgetown — (Google Maps)

Published by

Rosana Rábago Sainz

9 de mayo, 2023

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Georgetown has built a mosque on its campus. The oldest Catholic university in the United States, owned by the Jesuits, announced in March that it was opening the doors of an Islamic temple. The center made the decision to "embrace interreligious dialogue," said Georgetown's vice president for division ministry, the Rev. Mark Bosco:

We’re trying to form students to be people for others. And in doing that, it means we need to embrace interreligious dialogue. Coming to these different places, being invited by another student to come to the masjid, for example, whether you’re Muslim or not, invites us to explore the richness of Georgetown’s heritage and its deep commitment to our faith traditions.

The temple was opened in 2019 although the official inauguration could not be until the middle of this March. It was then that the work was finished and when, as reported by the university, the doors of the mosque could be opened:

On March 18, Georgetown officially opened the Yarrow Mamout Masjid, the first mosque with ablution stations, a spirituality and formation hall and a halal kitchen on a U.S. college campus.

This religious building has several spaces for Muslims and non-Muslims to meditate and gather if they wish. In this way, the temple "provides a space for reflection, prayer, community and interfaith dialogue for Muslim and non-Muslim students at Georgetown."

The masjid [another word for mosque] builds on the university’s commitment to interreligious understanding and care for the whole person, or cura personalis, in creating sacred spaces on campus and community for students of all faith traditions.

This is not the first time Georgetown has sought to reach out to the Islamic religion. In 2016, remember The College Flix, appointed a Muslim student as president of its student association. And since then, there has been increasing Muslim representation at Georgetown, the nation's oldest Catholic university.