Why Are Muslim Students Choosing Villanova?


Villanova University doesn’t always have an easy time accommodating students who don’t conform to the university’s Catholic mission—remember last spring, when it canceled an appearance by a gay performance artist? But Villanova and other Catholic universities are home to growing population of Muslim students from foreign countries: It turns out that many of the new wave of students are comfortable in a religious, somewhat conservative setting—even if the religion isn’t their own—than in more secular settings like state universities. “There’s no conscious effort” at recruiting Muslim students, said the Rev. Kail Ellis, Villanova’s vice president for academic affairs. “It’s basically something that happened through word of mouth and reputation.” We wonder what Philadelphia’s anti-Islam crusader Daniel Pipes has to say about that.  [New York Times]