---
title: "Harvard Opens New Muslim Prayer Spaces at Smith Campus Center"
url: "https:\/\/theislamicinformation.com\/news\/harvard-opens-new-muslim-prayer-spaces-at-smith-campus-center\/"
type: "post"
updated: "2025-08-12"
description: "Smith Campus Center to house dedicated musallah, ending reliance on basement facilities criticized as inadequate since 1995."
taxonomies: ["News","Harvard","United States","US"]
---

# Harvard Opens New Muslim Prayer Spaces at Smith Campus Center

Source: https://theislamicinformation.com/news/harvard-opens-new-muslim-prayer-spaces-at-smith-campus-center/
Updated: 2025-08-12

Harvard University will open two new dedicated Muslim prayer spaces this fall, including a permanent musallah in the Smith Campus Center.

For nearly 30 years, Harvard’s primary Muslim prayer area was confined to a cramped basement room in Canaday Hall, supplemented by temporary spaces like Sever Hall’s third floor.

![Canaday Hall Islamic Prayer Space](https://theislamicinformation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Canaday-Hall-Islamic-Prayer-Space.webp)

*Canaday Hall Islamic Prayer Space. Photo by Harvard Islamic Society*

Students frequently juggled locations—sometimes traveling 15+ minutes to the Student Organization Center at Hilles (SOCH) via shuttle—to hold congregational prayers.

> “We felt pushed around from area to area”
>
>  *said Shakira Ali ’28, co-director of the Harvard Islamic Society.*

The new 2nd-floor Smith Campus Center space will feature a foot bath for ritual washing (wudu) and dedicated areas for daily prayers and reflection.

A key recommendation from Harvard’s Task Force on Combating Islamophobia, which urged “permanent prayer areas for Muslims” amid broader efforts to tackle campus bias.

Adam Latif ’27, Islamic Society co-president, acknowledged the progress: “It’s a great first step for Muslim visibility.”