On Jan. 31, Stylus Hall — a new community space for Muslims at USC — was unveiled at a ceremony at  University Religious Center. Muslim students at USC first desired a  prayer space where they could gather and pray communally 15 years ago, according to Talha Rafique, the president of the Muslim Student Union and a senior majoring in quantitative biology. The prayer room was entirely empty four years ago, but some individuals brought prayer mats, Rafique said.

The new additions to Stylus Hall include artwork from calligraphy artist Aadil Abedi, who has collaborated with Disney and Meta. The artwork includes verses from the Quran and cost the University $10,000 to commission for each artwork, according to Rafique. Some other new additions include a library section and new furniture. The prayer room is next to Stylus Hall and includes new carpet and screens as well as washing facilities in the two restrooms for ritual before prayer.

Following the increase in Muslim students, the role of Director of Muslim Life was created, according to Dean of Religious Life Varun Soni. Jibreel Speight, the director of muslim life, serves as a full time chaplain role four days a week, Soni said. The Muslim Life Director is generally available for four or five hours a day for religious counsel, Rafique said.

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“The University Religious Center has a Hindu prayer space, a Christian prayer space, a Buddhist prayer space [and] multi-use spaces, and so our hope is that students of any faith have worship spaces that they can walk to, close to campus or on campus,” Soni said.

According to Soni, the Muslim Student Union is bigger than it has ever been, which is part of what has led to the creation and refurbishment of these spaces. Soni said the community center at Stylus Hall serves as a “home away from home,” where Muslim students can connect with each other.

Rafique said financial and opinion-based challenges were involved in the creation of the space. The challenges in getting the spaces were mainly in terms of making decisions because a large group of people were involved in making the decisions and they wanted to make sure the space reflected all the voices involved.

“The challenges that were faced during the process were primarily like a logistics aspect. Like could this even happen? Are people willing to make this happen? Can we allocate a budget for this? Can we raise funds for this? And the second aspect was making sure everyone gets a voice,” Rafique said. 

Students were responsible for getting the spaces established and refurbished, according to Soni. 

“Students have really driven this project, of course, we supported it, but it’s been a student-centric project, to create spaces where they feel comfortable and are able to meet as groups, and of course, able to worship,” Soni said.

Stylus Hall has recently hosted several events since its unveiling in January, including a weekly halaqa, which is a practical religious talk. In certain cases, the attendance at the weekly halaqas is so large that it is split up into groups, according to Rafique. The community center has hosted social activities, such as a roundtable for Black History Month, as well as charitable events, such as making food packages for people on Skid Row, according to Safa Abbas, a sophomore majoring in accounting. 

“There’s a lot of passion and love and empathy that comes into that room and we just use all of that to build something way bigger and help others,” Abbas said. 

According to Rafique, the goal of the new spaces is to feel a communal energy that allows students to practice their faith in a way that is personalized and beneficial to them. 

“Come as you are, enjoy it as you are, and whatever you get from it, you get from it,” Rafique said.”It doesn’t matter who you are, what you are, like, it’s your thing to explore and anyone can explore it, and then that’s our main goal.”

According to Abbas, Stylus Hall serves as a place where students can gather together to feel a sense of community. 

“It’s just a place of so much love, community, family,” Abbas said. “It’s just a place you can come to and relax and just de-stress or just come and talk to your friends, chill, hang out, do whatever you want, just like your living room at your house.”