Dear professors,
Dear employees and students of the University of Stuttgart,

The University of Stuttgart is since 2017 a signatory of the Diversity Charter in 2017, see [1]. The goal of this charter is to create a working environment that recognizes and promotes diversity at the University of Stuttgart. The Diversity Charter consists of seven diversity dimensions, in which measures to promote and improve diversity were specified. These diversity dimensions are:

• Age/Seniority And Equality To All Generations
• Ethnic Backgrounds And Nationalities
• Genders And Gender Identities
• Physical And Mental Abilities
• Religion And Worldview
• Sexual Orientation 
• Social Background

As a signatory, the University of Stuttgart supports the contents of the Diversity Charter and is committed to making it a topic of internal and external dialogue. However, the University of Stuttgart implements only six of these seven dimensions so far. According to their homepage [2], the Diversity Dimension For Religion And Worldview is not being respected by the University of Stuttgart. This diversity dimension recommends, among other things, the establishment of a "Room of Silence" so that employees and students can retreat for prayer and meditation.  

Since 2016, we have been struggling and making an effort to establish Rooms Of Silence on the campuses Vaihingen and Stadtmitte of the University of Stuttgart, but we could not convince the university management of the urgency and necessity of these rooms. 

Since August 2021 the student parliament of the University of Stuttgart has also been demanding a Room Of Silence for religious students in their "Catalogue Of Demands For Equality, Anti-Discrimination And Equal Opportunities at the University of Stuttgart" in paragraph 3.2.2, see [3].

Despite multiple requests, the university administration did not want to provide a Room Of Silence, because, according to the rectorate meeting, this undermines the University of Stuttgart's Law of Neutrality. Thus, the university partially disregards a part of the Diversity Charter. This describes a certain cherry-picking and makes it clear to us that the Charter is nothing more than lip service for them.

Therefore, we again loudly demand a Room Of Silence on campus Vaihingen as well as on campus Stadtmitte for all members of the University of Stuttgart. If you also think that our university deserves a Room Of Silence to be able to compete with universities like Harvard, Stanford, Tübingen and Karlsruhe with regards to Diversity, then please support us and sign this petition. 

Kind regards,

Your Muslim Student Union at the University of Stuttgart and the Muslim Student Group of the University of Stuttgart

Further information: 

There is a small room of silence in the Ecumenical Center in Vaihingen. The university management tries to direct believing students there. However, the Room of Silence in the ÖZ is under a private sponsor and not the University of Stuttgart. Furthermore, the room is not accessible at all times.  However, some devout students and employees, e.g. Muslims, are required to perform the prayers five times a day at specific times. These times do not always overlap with the opening hours of the ÖZ, so that they then have no opportunity to perform their prayers. Therefore, it happens more often that students, especially Muslim students, have to neglect lectures in order to perform their prayer in distant places. Furthermore, the private sponsor of the ÖZ told us that they are not able to cope with the rush of students for this room. 

We feel that such a space serves to the fulfilment of basic needs. If one advertises for "Diversity", then a Room Of Silence is an absolute minimum requirement.

Everyone should be welcomed in the "Room of Silence," whether to pray, meditate, or relax before an exam. Hereby you can not only improve the desperate situation of the future users, but also establish an atmosphere of togetherness with more communication and understanding for each other.

References:

[1] https://www.charta-der-vielfalt.de/fuer-arbeitgebende/ (as of 09/06/2022)

[2] https://www.uni-stuttgart.de/universitaet/profil/chancengleichheit/ (as of: 09/06/2022)

[3] https://stuvus.uni-stuttgart.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Forderungskatalog-Gleichstellung-Antidisikriminierung-Chancengleichheit-Uni-Stuttgar-V4-ohne-Nachverfolgung_final.pdf (as of: 09/06/2022)

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