Faith & Belief Perspectives: Heval Kartal

Has my faith added anything to my university experience which I wouldn’t have had otherwise? Well, you have new friendships being made and new brothers and that's the university experience, you know, making friends and having fun. I feel like bulk of that has been through the Islamic Society.

Islam gives you a schedule – it’s not just a belief system, it's a way of life as well. You wake up in the morning, sometimes 3, 4, 5am, depending on what time of year it is, to pray. You pray at midday, pray when the sun is at an angle, you pray five times a day, and it gives you a structure to build your life around. It teaches you discipline. For example, no eating or drinking during the daytime for a whole month. Having to abstain from certain things, it makes you disciplined. Islam makes you structured, which is something that obviously translates into the academic arena as well.

As Muslims, we have a commitment on Fridays - that's our holy day, basically. You know, in Christianity the holy day is Sunday, and Judaism it’s the Sabbath on Saturday, and then we have Friday. Men have to go to the mosque on Friday. So, it’s nice that if you ever have lessons on a Friday, you can always e-mail, and they're very receptive to helping with timetabling. It’s not really a big change or a challenge, especially if you've grown up doing it. I'm very thankful that there’s a prayer room on campus, so you can go in between lectures.

For me, finding community here in Exeter was very easy. I was born in Germany, but I grew up in London, and I had a pretty normal childhood. In North London, almost everything you want or need is right there, so moving to Exeter for my degree was obviously a big change. I always knew Exeter was less diverse than London, so that wasn’t really a big issue for me. I embraced the change as it's quieter than London, and it's more peaceful, more green. That’s my favourite thing about Exeter, especially coming from London; a concrete jungle. You're able to travel just 20 minutes and you get these forests, and nice places, and you get all this greenery, and the air feels clean.

And the Islamic Society is very strong. They’re probably the best society at uni – but I’m not biased! The way they welcome you into the group is great, and there are so many events. Sometimes there are events almost daily, especially during Ramadan, which is our holy month.

And it’s not just the society, but the broader community in Exeter. For example, I have many friends that don't go to uni, they just live in the city and I met them through the mosque. In the Islamic Society, we don't only do events for students, it's also for people who are outside the university. We bring them into events, whether that's football or something else we're doing. We'll always bring them in because as Muslims, our duty is to people first regardless of whether they’re at the university or not, if they're this or that, if they're young or they're old, you know.

The community is very strong, especially so because we only have one mosque in Exeter (except for a new one a few miles away in Pinhoe). It means everyone comes together in one place, and the mosque is always open for us. For example, I go in the morning to pray at 5 or 6am and even then, it's open and there's people there. So, it's a very strong community. You're seeing the same people, depending on how much you go, three, four times a day. Coupled with the brotherhood that Islam encourages, that means it's very easy to find a strong close-knit community at university and in Exeter.

I think the most important thing for me about finding this community is it fosters a good sense of Islam. It keeps us on the right path for our beliefs. For example, it's no secret in Islam alcohol isn’t allowed. It's a bit of a no-no. And we're pretty much the only society, or one of a few, that don't go to clubs or don't have socials and bars or pubs. I feel like when you're new to university, it's very easy - if you're a Muslim, that is - and you don’t know anyone yet, to be tempted to do something that in our religion is not allowed. It's very easy for you to slip up when you’re scared that you won’t make new friends. So having the Islamic Society there, it really means a lot to the community. It's a nice alternative, that I think students can look to as a home away from home.

Often new students are coming away from areas which may be bigger or more diverse; it may be easier to practise their religion. I've heard a lot of people tell me, ‘If it wasn’t for the Islamic Society, I'd be doing this and this. And I'm very thankful for it.’ So I think the impact we make on people is big, and I think it's a big responsibility and a lot of trust we have - something that I think is very important for us and for the broader community.

As Head Brother of the Islamic Society, I organise the men's side of the committee, the brother’s side. Whether that involves delegating or trying to cover a task, if someone's not there, it's a holistic thing, filling in for and overseeing the other roles. Admin, brothers’ welfare, brothers’ events, and overseeing the other sections of the committee – that sums up what I do.

The friends I've made here are friends for life. So I think if you’re a student reading this, whether you’re a brother, sister, whoever, or even just interested in Islam, I think you should definitely get in contact with the Islamic Society and the community that we have here.