Islamic Society prayer room to finally get refurbishment
Long overdue works are set to be started
Plans to restore the Brothers’ Prayer Room to an acceptable condition are underway after the issue was brought to the attention of DP Finance and DP Clubs and Societies at the beginning of term. The prayer room is managed by IC’s Islamic Society, and located at 9B Princes Gardens.
The prayer room has been in a “sub-optimal state for some years now”, according to Mazen el-Turk, chair of Islamic Society but currently the group is in discussions with the Union and College about a refurbishment.
“The College is currently having their own discussions over what exactly to do with the building we’re in. So while a major refurbishment is definitely (hopefully) coming to us in the near future, we’re going to have to wait for the college to go through their channels before we actually know what exactly is happening” says el-Turk.
The prayer room is suffering from a number of maintenance issues, including a dirty carpet emitting a strong smell, damp on the walls, and peeling wallpaper. All of these issues are exacerbated by poor ventilation.
“We first approached the Union to fix this about six years ago. We were told then that we might be moving out of the room soon, so we should wait and see what happens. We were mainly told this as we were planning to spend our own money on the refurbishment, and the Union did not want us wasting a few thousand for no reason. After that, we didn’t really pursue the matter further until last year when we approached the Union again (of course, everyone who had initially inquired had already graduated) to which they said similar things.
“It was only until this year that we managed to secure a refurbishment to the building. I think having the building manager visit and see the state of the room really helped. We still might be getting moved out soon, but we’ll have a fully refurbished room while we wait.”
The refurbishment was agreed after DPFS and DPCS met with the Head of Estates, who has arranged for the works to take place during the Winter break. In the meantime the Union, in conjunction with College, will locate an appropriate space for members of Islamic Society to pray, which takes into consideration the club’s needs such as proximity to washroom facilities. The finer details of the refurbishment are still under negotiation.
