Mission of the Muslim Life Fund

Launched in 2014, the Harvard Muslim Life Fund (HMLF) is a joint project by HUMA and the Harvard Islamic Society (HIS), dedicated to increasing the resources available to Muslim students on campus. The Muslim community at Harvard is a growing, active community with multiple organizations across the university. The size of the Harvard Muslim population is continually increasing, and includes over 300 members across the 12 schools and over 100 attendees at Jummah. Through the fund, there is a stable, formal support structure to guide, encourage and promote that growth.

Preceding the official launch of the fund, HIS and HUMA conducted a university-wide survey of Muslim life at Harvard. This survey asked students about Muslim experiences on campus, both social and religious life, response to programming, and need for a qualified Muslim chaplain and other resources. Based on the results of the survey, the initial goal of the fund was to provide for a paid chaplaincy to support students across all of Harvard’s 12 schools and advocate on behalf of the Islamic community with the university administration.

The first year of the fund proved very successful, with sufficient money raised to hire the first paid Muslim chaplain at Harvard in the spring of 2015 to begin his duties in the Fall of that year. In future years, as the resources of the fund grow, projects will include a Muslim student space and may include scholarships, InshAllah.