Shaw University reopens campus mosque, but ‘fight not over yet,’ group says
Shaw University has reopened its campus mosque to worshippers after closing it during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Muslim community and Shaw University have reached an agreement to allow worshipers into the King Khalid Mosque again while negotiations over the long-term status of the property continue,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations stated in a news release. “The fight is not over yet, but the community is back in the masjid.”
The initial agreement allows access to the mosque for three years and, for two months, “to engage in good faith negotiations to find a long term solution,” said Nigel Edwards, an attorney representing the mosque, in an email Tuesday.
The contract between Shaw and the mosque says both acknowledge “fundamental differences of opinion” about the rights of each group and access to the mosque and that litigation may be the only way to come to a final resolution.
Area Muslims being able to attend the mosque was a sticking point as Shaw University sought to rezone its historic campus in downtown Raleigh. Several Muslim speakers attended the city meetings and held protests on the Shaw campus.
The Raleigh City Council voted in June to rezone the campus to allow for taller and denser buildings. Muslims had called on city leaders to deny or postpone a vote until concerns over re-opening the mosque were resolved.
City leaders and the city attorney repeatedly said the mosque fell outside the scope of the rezoning request.
The mosque on the campus was built in 1983 with a $1 million donation from King Khalid of Saudi Arabia, and community members said the donation required the mosque to remain open to the public.
A welcome back meeting is set for Aug. 26 with breakfast at 10 a.m. and the meeting starting at 11 a.m. The event is open to the public but people are asked to register to ensure there is enough food. The registration is online http://evite.me/QbBk24aH76
“We will discuss our current legal status, upcoming programs and future outlook as we begin this important new chapter,” Edwards said in an email.
Shaw University did not respond to an email from The News & Observer about the mosque.
“Shaw showed good faith,” Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said Tuesday. “And I’m really pleased to hear that and see that there was a positive outcome for the community.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2023 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Shaw University reopens campus mosque, but ‘fight not over yet,’ group says."
