Blog 2: Muslims From Abroad Are Thriving in Catholic Colleges

This article talks about how Muslim students from all around the world have begun coming to the United States to attend college. According to recent studies Muslim students prefer to go to a Catholic university than to go to a traditional college. The enrollment rate of Muslim students into Catholic schools has doubled over the past decade but what is even more surprising is that the rate of enrollment for Muslim women has more than tripled over the past decade. One of the students Maha Haroon, a student at Creighton University in Omaha, said “I like the fact that there’s faith, even if it’s not my faith, and I feel my faith is respected.” Many of the students feel like they are more accepted there and like the added features of same sex floors or even same sex buildings which many other schools do not offer. Some schools even make special accommodations from their religious holidays and their traditional preprayer washing of hands and feet. Although the women are sometimes asked if they are hot with their head covering on or why do they attend a Catholic school the overall environment is more warm and friendly than a traditional college campus.

Looking at this from a micro-perspective I think that Muslim students going to a Catholic school makes them feel more at home because most students there are probably very religious regardless of what religion they believe in. They also do not have to worry about being teased or talked about because the rituals they have to follow related to their religion. If I was a Muslim student I would probably choose to go a religious affiliated school also because I would feel like the professors and students would be more understanding of me and my beliefs since they take classes to learn about a wide variety of religions. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/03/education/muslims-enroll-at-catholic-colleges-in-growing-numbers.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=education&adxnnlx=1346961619-nEGZLdezOlafXSCUv2XRmQ