ssues & ideas EDITOR NADIM ROBERTS THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2014 7 Practising faith on our campus According to religious clubs at school, Langara is a safe place for students to worship By RENEE SUTTON angara is a safe and open place for students to express their faith, according to the leaders of many faith-based student associations. Members of Langara’s religious com- munity agree that Langara accommo- dates most of their needs by providing services and spaces that allow them to practice their religions on campus without difficulty. Yahya Abdi Hadi, president of the Muslim Student Association, said that he practices faith in everything he does, including what he eats and how he communicates with others. Muslims have to pray five times a day, and Abdi Hadi said leaving campus to go to a mosque would be a hassle. “In terms of religious practices I have to uphold, [having a place for] prayer is the one most needed on cam- pus,” he said. Langara has a prayer room on campus where Muslims can pray throughout the day. There is also By ASH KELLY Devries is a man of many talents. He has travelled the world, is flu- ent in numerous languages, and is widely published. Now 71, Devries has been teaching at Langara for more than 20 years. He still gets excited about new ideas. “T recently found actually a whole new field called experimental philoso- phy,” Devries said. “So now I’m thinking about a whole bunch of things because [’ve just brought that up. I usually find half-a- Roeines studies instructor Larry dozen interesting things per week that are really important ... but this really struck me.” Born in Northern Minnesota, the son of an electrician and an office worker, Devries grew up in a blue-collar atmo- sphere. Like his father, Larry became an electrician, which makes sense given his proficiency for mathematics. Devries had studied in Istanbul, Chi- cago, and Berkeley. He has studied at least 11 languages, including the an- cient languages Sanskrit, Babylonian and Avestan. “With a language you learn a differ- a room reserved for Jumu’ah, an after- noon prayer held on Fridays that is mandatory for all adult males. President of the Jewish Student As- sociation Ben Edelstein said having re- ligious clubs on campus is important because it provides common ground and support for students. “Langara is an incredible campus that really does encourage everyone to be independent and to identify with whatever groups they want to,” Edel- stein said. Langara provides student-run clubs with materials, such as free printing and banners, according to Ervin Ok- tariadi, president of the Langara Chris- tians Club. He said Langara is open to religion, and people are understanding when it comes to religious differences. Nicolas Pecarski, a philosophy stu- dent, said he does not identify as reli- gious, but supports Langara’s faith- based student clubs. “There should be clubs run by everybody, there shouldn’t be any kind of bias,” he said. YAHYA ABDI HADI President of the Muslim Student Association Interfaith mixing Two faith-based clubs on campus have decided it is time to bridge the divide between those of different beliefs RENEE SUTTON photo Muslim students pray during Jumu’ah, a mandatory Friday prayer for adult male Muslims. Langara’s resident faith scholar Religious studies instructor Larry Devries has been teaching religion for decades By ASHLEY LEGASSIC ligious student groups came to- gether to have an interfaith meet- ing. The Langara Muslim Student Asso- ciation and the Jewish Student Associ- ation met last month to begin a dia- logue between students in their respective clubs. Business student and_ practicing Muslim Ameer Mohammad first ap- proached the Jewish Student Associa- tion at the beginning of the semester. Together, the two groups planned a first meeting. According to representa- tives of both student groups, the meet- ing was a success. Rotem Tal of Hillel BC, which runs Jewish student groups across B.C. campuses, couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. “Tt was a very calm meeting, very re- laxed. Both sides were open to hear Fi: the first time at Langara, two re- each other speak,” said Tal. “It was about coming together and discussing our commonalities and dif- ferences.” Ameer Mohammad agreed. “T think the biggest thing we got out of that event was the commonalities,” said Mohammad. Representatives from both groups believe that part of the success of the meeting was the frankness and open- ness of the conversations that took place. “T hope and I pray that this partner- ship continues to grow, and grows bet- ter on this campus, and Muslim mem- bers of this college, Jewish members of this college, as well as members of other faiths get to see and understand that we really mean well,” said Mo- hammad. Both student associations are hop- ing to expand the meetings to include more students and other faith-based clubs on the Langara campus. ent way of thinking,” Devries said. Devries said he wants students to travel and study cultures, mythology and religions, to gain experiences that challenge them to develop new global perspectives. “You can get on a plane and be any- where in the world within 24 hours, and you can consume those sights and so forth,” said Devries. “You can actually almost consume those people, but can you understand them? Can you relate to them as sub- jects, not objects? Can you speak their language? Can you walk in their shoes?” Submitted photo Devries visiting a Buddhist temple in China in 2011.