Muslim Prayer Times or childcare responsibilities?

[suchafuss]

I have to do a group presentation as part of my degree and we have all been given groups to work in. We are on placement 4 days a week and only in university one day per week when we also have lectures. In my group we have several mums and several muslim students. The mums struggle to stay late due to child care responsibilities and the muslim students are suggesting different times as otherwise it interfers with their prayers. This is NOT a muslim bashing thread at all, I just wander if there is any leeway with prayers or if it would be a good/bad idea to speak to tutors about reassigning groups so that we can all manage our commitments?

I would suggest meeting close to the prayer room, then the Muslim students can pop in there while the rest of you grab a coffee. Get takeaway and maybe organise that you pick one up for everyone. Then everyone can crack on, with spiritual and caffeine based requirements met.

Exactly spudlet maybe the other students will be kind and pick up coffee and cake for the Muslim students.

I've never known this issue, they have all adjusted prayer time around essential work/study, as is allowed

Yes thats my experience of the majority after 40 years in the Middle East and being part of a large Muslim family.

As long as the prayer is performed before the next prayer is due then its ok.

I think they're pulling a fast one.

Could you suggest the students discuss with their iman to come up with a solution? I often get healthcare questions from Muslim patients that I feel ill equipped to answer as they are not purely medical (e.g. around Ramadan fasting). I find that imans are usually great at helping the patients find a pragmatic solution that is comfortable for them.

Last time I was at college a few of young Muslim men who had recently started practising kept wanting special snowflake status and argued with anyone who suggested otherwise. They need to understand that all the extra allowances in a uni won't continue once they are out there in the big wide world. If the argue. Just show them the thread.

I've been through lots of group work. I didn't know the religious/parenting/work/social/sex life of any of them. You set up the group, you decide what each person is doing, then everyone goes off and does their work.

If you have to meet, then any decisions are made by those that show up, regardless of their personal or religious choices. If you can't be there, then you accept the decision of the group that is there at the arranged time.

It is very hard to meet the needs/demands of everyone regarding group work, esp as many are mature students, require childcare, have caring responsibilities etc. Would a skype meet work? I know we had to do that to demonstrate flexibility at certain stages. I have had many muslim students and the only time that was out of the question for them (and only males at that) was the friday prayer, which lasted an hour around lunch time. Other than that there was a multi faith "quiet" room in the university so the muslims would pray there.