Najiba Akbar, Muslim Chaplain

Welcome from the Muslim Chaplain

Salaam Alaykum, welcome to the Muslim community at Tufts!

As your chaplain, I am committed to serving and supporting you on your journey of spiritual growth and exploration. Whether you want to learn more about Islam as a faith tradition, are seeking a conversation partner about something happening in your life, or you feel inspired to engage more deeply in communal life and want to share your ideas—I am here to walk with you on your path and connect you to the broader community at Tufts.

I am trained in the fields of Islamic chaplaincy, counseling, life coaching, and community organizing—and I bring all of these parts of me into the work that I do. I work closely with the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at Tufts, as well as with my colleagues on the University Chaplaincy team, and together we strive to create programming that is welcoming, diverse in viewpoints, creative, and spiritually uplifting. I invite you to work with us to create and participate in the community that you envision—I believe we can do a lot more together than we can on our own.

To find out more about weekly events please contact me or the MSA student leadership to be added to our communication channels. If you are new to Tufts, please reach out to me to set up an introductory half hour meeting so we can get to know each other. I look forward to meeting you and being part of your journey here at Tufts!

Warmly,

Najiba Akbar, M.S.W.

Muslim Chaplain

Welcome from the Muslim Students Association

As-Salāmu ʿalaikum wa-rahmatullahi wa-barakatu,

May peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you,

As the Tufts Muslim Students Association (MSA), it is our joy to warmly welcome you on behalf of the Tufts Muslim community. Here at Tufts, Muslim life is exceptionally robust and diverse. Many of our Muslim life gatherings focus on cultivating religious learning, giving back through service, or creating community here at Tufts or connecting with the Muslim community of Greater Boston. We celebrate many Muslim holidays on campus such as Eid and the month of Ramadan. We connect with many other faith organizations at Tufts and with other Muslim student groups in surrounding schools, and we hold events that shed light on important topics within Islam to strengthen our faith and learn about our religion from new perspectives.

Tufts has three custom-designed Muslim prayer rooms on the Medford campus, located in Curtis Hall, Cummings Center, and in the Tufts’ Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. We also have Muslim House, an on-campus theme house which functions as an undergraduate residence hall. We hold Friday prayers at 1:15pm at the Tufts Interfaith Center all throughout the academic year, as well as other regular programs throughout the semester. More information can be found on the Muslim Chaplaincy website.

Welcome and we look forward to welcoming you to the Tufts Jumbo family!

-The MSA Executive Board

"As a Muslim international student coming from Jerusalem, I was worried that I would feel homesick and long for a sense of community when I arrived at Tufts. At first that was the case, but over time I became part of the incredible Muslim community at Tufts, and that changed everything. The month of Ramadan, which took place in the Spring semester, turned out to be my favorite time of the year. During that month, the stress of classes was broken up by a sense of spirituality and light-hearted fun as we gathered each week to break fast, pray and celebrate together. Being part of the Tufts Muslim community allowed me to create new beautiful memories that I will never forget, memories that gave me a new sense of home away from home." - Yousef Abdo, A24

Please contact members of the MSA 2022-2023 leadership team with any questions you have.