In the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, universities across the United States began to address the needs of Muslim students on their campuses. This led to the hiring of full-time Muslim chaplains, who provide spiritual guidance and support. One such student is Saarah Abdul-Maajid, a 20-year-old political science major at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She chose Rutgers partly because of its Muslim center and chaplain, where she finds community and support. She spends part of each school day at the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers (CILRU), taking a noncredit class on Islamic teachings and volunteering as the center’s marketing intern. “As Muslims, we’re very proud of our identities,” she said. “Almost every other culture and religion seems to have their own spaces, and I can say we definitely have now, too.” Following the 9/11 attacks, universities nationwide began to recognize the growing presence of Muslim students and the need for inclusive support. Within a decade, many institutions, including all eight Ivy League schools, added full-time Muslim chaplains. According to the Association of Muslim Chaplains, there are now 80 full-time Muslim chaplains on college campuses across the U.S. This is a significant increase from 25 years ago, when only a few colleges had Muslim chaplains, and most were part-time or volunteer positions. Rutgers University was among the first public universities to fund a full-time Muslim chaplain, even though public universities cannot directly pay for faith-specific chaplains due to their reliance on state and federal tax dollars. In 2010, students, alumni, and community leaders formed the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers (CILRU) and raised enough money by 2015 to hire a full-time chaplain. The center hired Aslam, who graduated from Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, a school that began offering a Master’s in Chaplaincy with a focus on Islamic chaplaincy in 2001. Today, two other schools also offer similar programs. Other state universities, including those in Illinois, Michigan, New York, Texas, and California, have followed Rutgers' model, creating independently funded Muslim chaplain positions and dedicated student centers. Rutgers has one of the largest Muslim student populations in the U.S., with about 6,000 Muslim students out of 47,000 total. The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor has a similarly large Muslim student population and also employs an independently funded Muslim chaplain. In recent years, Muslim students and chaplains have faced additional challenges due to rising anti-Muslim rhetoric and political tensions, including campaigns against "Sharia law" and the Gaza war protests of 2024. These events have created a more hostile environment, with chaplains often caught between university administrators, students, and parents with differing views on Israel and Palestine. Some chaplains have faced threats, harassment, and even vandalism, and some institutions have supported such actions. Despite these challenges, students like Abdul-Maajid have found strength and hope in their communities and in the growing political activism among young Muslims. The election of New York’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and the potential for more Muslim politicians in the upcoming midterms, have inspired many to take a more active role in politics and advocacy. “We’ve seen what we can actually do,” Abdul-Maajid said, reflecting on her growing confidence and commitment to her faith and future.