Duke University hires its 1st Muslim chaplain
June 17, 2008
Yonat Shimron - McClatchy NewspapersIssue date: 6/12/08 Section: Real News
DURHAM, N.C. _In a sign of the changing makeup of its students, Duke University has hired its first imam, or Muslim religious leader, becoming one of only a handful of universities in the United States that have full-time Muslim clergy.
Abdullah Antepli, a native of Turkey who is completing his doctoral work at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Conn., will become the Muslim imam and chaplain on campus, beginning July 1.
Antepli will join a roster of at least 20 faith leaders, including a rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest and a dozen Protestant ministers who attend to the spiritual needs of Duke's increasingly diverse student body.
"Here's a university seeing a growing need for a qualified Muslim chaplain and graciously responding to the need," Antepli said Monday. "It's really admirable. They could easily have ignored it or asked the Muslim community to pay for it."
Duke has at least 300 undergraduate and graduate students who claim Islam as their religion. The university has no precise numbers because students are not required to disclose their faith. About 50 of those students are actively involved in its Muslim Student Association. Duke also has dozens of Muslims working for the university in various capacities.
Antepli's role will be to lead them in Friday "Juma" prayers, teach the Quran, lead discussion groups and offer pastoral care to students who want it. He will also teach introductory classes on Islam at the Duke Divinity School, which is paying half his salary.
"It's an important moment for a university that has historic Methodist roots in the South," said Tom Tweed, formerly a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and now at the University of Texas at Austin.
Duke's earlier incarnation, Trinity College, affiliated with the Methodist Church in 1859. That affiliation has loosened over the years, as Trinity became Duke University. Its divinity school is still tied to the Methodist church, and for most of the 20th century, its character remained overwhelmingly Protestant. But today, the largest group of students on campus is Roman Catholic. Several years ago, Duke hired its first full-time rabbi.
Abdullah Antepli, a native of Turkey who is completing his doctoral work at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Conn., will become the Muslim imam and chaplain on campus, beginning July 1.
Antepli will join a roster of at least 20 faith leaders, including a rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest and a dozen Protestant ministers who attend to the spiritual needs of Duke's increasingly diverse student body.
"Here's a university seeing a growing need for a qualified Muslim chaplain and graciously responding to the need," Antepli said Monday. "It's really admirable. They could easily have ignored it or asked the Muslim community to pay for it."
Duke has at least 300 undergraduate and graduate students who claim Islam as their religion. The university has no precise numbers because students are not required to disclose their faith. About 50 of those students are actively involved in its Muslim Student Association. Duke also has dozens of Muslims working for the university in various capacities.
Antepli's role will be to lead them in Friday "Juma" prayers, teach the Quran, lead discussion groups and offer pastoral care to students who want it. He will also teach introductory classes on Islam at the Duke Divinity School, which is paying half his salary.
"It's an important moment for a university that has historic Methodist roots in the South," said Tom Tweed, formerly a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and now at the University of Texas at Austin.
Duke's earlier incarnation, Trinity College, affiliated with the Methodist Church in 1859. That affiliation has loosened over the years, as Trinity became Duke University. Its divinity school is still tied to the Methodist church, and for most of the 20th century, its character remained overwhelmingly Protestant. But today, the largest group of students on campus is Roman Catholic. Several years ago, Duke hired its first full-time rabbi.
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