by Jacquelyn Griffin
News Reporter
Students seeking fellowship in campus religious organizations find themselves in smaller versions of the university itself: members of communities dotted with different languages and cultures.
Religion as a common denominator casts diversity in a different light, however.
Sophomore Mudiha Wazirali, a member of the Muslim Students' Association, said the group shows Muslim students another dimension of their religions tradition.
Many African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries are represented in the group, as are the United States and her native Pakistan, she said.
"When I came (to the University of Houston) as a freshman, I hadn't been exposed to Muslims of different cultures," Wazirali said. "Here, I saw all different kinds of people of all colors and races, who party and live life in much the same way we do in Pakistan. I felt part of a much larger community."
Some religious centers play host to associations of students from specific countries or ethnic groups encourage cultural expression and to address their particular needs.
Genaro Salinas, a graduate engineering student and member of the Catholic Newman Center's Latino Group, said, "We work to maintain our own customs within the larger community."
Members observe traditional feast days from various countries, like Mexico's Day of the Dead, by building altars and bringing traditional foods to share at gatherings, he said.
"Within the Catholic Church, different holidays are important in different countries," said Salinas, who is from Mexico. "In the group, we learn about our different countries' traditions."
Lieu Tran, a freshman and president of the Vietnamese Catholic Students' Association, said Catholics comprise a large segment of Vietnamese students, including both those who are American- and Vietnamese-born.
"The group draws many Vietnamese Catholics to the center who may not have come otherwise," she said. "It gets more people to interact with the Catholic Center."
According to Tran, participation in the group has helped many Vietnamese-American students to speak their parents' language more fluently. Members discover aspects of their culture they may not have known, she said.
Some foreign students find a door to the city's larger religious communities through campus religious groups.
"The Muslim Students' Association helps different Muslim organizations around the city with clothing and food drives," said Shazia Syed, a junior nutrition major from Pakistan. "We also receive guidance from speakers from Muslim organizations in the area."
Craig Butler, director of the Baptist Student Ministries at UH, said his group helps foreign students learn more about American culture and traditions by providing a place for them to meet American friends.
"We also try to get internationals connected with their particular language groups in the city," he said. "We want to help people find their church home."
Nenna Ukuku, a sophomore, added that the center draws international students of many faiths "who want to see what we believe.
"We welcome foreign students with sporting events and international luncheons," she said. "The career center also holds English classes."
According to Isidore Vicente, the Catholic Newman Center campus minister, cultural pluralism within the campus religious groups is not so much a challenge as "an opportunity for great riches.
"For our group in particular, it fits in well with the Catholicity of the church - with the idea of a united church," he said.
Inclusiveness is important in religious communities because faith provides a shared identity for students from very different backgrounds, said Vicente, adding that he had never seen a racist incident at the Newman Center.
"We host a variety of events that focus on the different cultures within our group," he said.
"All of it is to let (students) know that their language, their culture, their flag, their food - everything is welcome and celebrated."