From Newsday
by Lisa Irizarry
Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park has opened a Wudu Room, a private area for those who practice Islam to prepare for prayer.
Wudu refers to the mental preparation and physical cleanliness of Muslims for the Salat, one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It involves a cleansing before the reading of the Quran.
Hospital officials said there were visible signs of a need for such a room in the hospital.
“We were noticing that the restrooms on the first floor were getting wet [from the water being used for the cleansings],” said Agnes Barden, associate executive director of Patient and Family Experience for the medical center. “It was causing a safety issue for us. Now [Muslim] patients, family and staff have a place to prepare for prayer.”
The Wudu Room opened Sept. 29 in the main floor lobby area of the 76th Avenue hospital, in a former storage space that is about 7 feet by 10 feet. It is believed to be the only Wudu Room in a hospital on Long Island.
“This is wonderful,” said Ehsanul Islam, a Muslim who has been the hospital pharmacy manager for 27 years. “It’s a community that appreciates it. People like to have somewhere to go to pray and this is convenient.”
