CK's Muslim Prayer Rug Debuts at Annual Ramadan Dinner

Students, parents, and faculty gathered on Tuesday for Cranbrook Schools’ 7th Annual Ramadan Dinner.

Organized by the Muslim Awareness Club at the Upper School and supported by the Office for Community and Multicultural Programs, the evening included the call to prayer, opening remarks by Muslim Awareness Club co-presidents Usman Syed and Misbah Ahmed (both CK ’09), and a talk about the meaning of Islam and cultural awareness by Rima Charara, parent of Upper and Middle School students.

Dinner consisted of a variety of traditional Indian foods, generously sponsored by the family of Middle School student Allana Akhtar.

The evening featured the debut of the Muslim Prayer Rug. The Muslim Prayer Rug project was undertaken by the Kingswood Weaving Studio in conjunction with the Muslim Awareness Club as a symbol of multiculturalism and to demonstrate support and inclusiveness for the Muslim students and families in the community.

Over the course of three years, 39 Upper School students hand-wove 30 silk and wool panels that were sent to Egypt this summer to be assembled. The rug functioned as a prayer rug for the first time at this year’s dinner and will be used at future dinners as well.

The weaving students, most of whom are non-Muslim, took on the project to give back to the school community and to show their support for the Muslim-American community. Lynn Bennett-Carpenter, head of the Kingswood Weaving Studio, notes the cultural and historic aspects of the project, explaining, “The weaving of this rug became a physical act of celebrating one of our many cultures here at Cranbrook.”

Weaving student Lexi Fournier, CK ’09, says, “Never before have I woven anything remotely as meaningful as this section of rug. Seeing my own handiwork get put to such great use is a feeling that I can't put into words.”

The Muslim Prayer Rug project was underwritten by the Office of Community and Multicultural Programs and received funding from the Kingswood Alumnae Association and the Grimaldi Fund. Carla Young, Director of Community and Multicultural Programs, was also a great supporter of the project.

Says Young, “The rug project is evidence of Cranbrook Schools at its best. When aware of a need, we galvanize to thoughtful, sensitive action. Holly [Arida, Global Programs Coordinator and Upper School History Instructor] referenced the 9/11 event that served as a catalyst to our understanding more about our own Muslim community. It was then, when we saw the universal pain and devastation, that we looked to embrace our families more closely and show how much the Cranbrook identity is one of hope and understanding.”