PHOENIX – Many Muslim women at Arizona State University say they feel safe showing their faith on campus, yet still choose to keep certain practices private to avoid stares or questions.

Muslim women say they rarely face direct discrimination, but many describe subtle assumptions, visible minority status and growing anxiety fueled by national rhetoric targeting Middle Eastern and Muslim communities.

Diana Usmanova, a sophomore at ASU’s West Valley Campus, said she has never faced negative behavior tied to her “religion, clothing, or the language [she] speaks,” adding that the West campus’ diversity “enhances [her] sense of belonging.”

She said she feels comfortable around friends who wear hijabs, noting the campus “feels like a sisterhood.”

Still, Usmanova said comments around campus questioning Muslim individuals based on harmful stereotypes send a message that “being Muslim or being an immigrant somehow makes you less qualified to serve or to belong.”

“Most often I encounter assumptions on my ethnicity from other students or faculty and it shapes how I am perceived before I get to know them,” Usmanova said.

Some students on the Tempe campus say they see many Muslim peers yet still feel out of place in some academic spaces.

“Sometimes I do feel excluded in a way, mainly because in my college, WPC, it is typically a majority of white people, and turns me into a visible minority,” said Beneen Alomrani, a junior at ASU Tempe.

She said she has worn her hijab her entire life and is “used to the stares,” adding that "even though [she] feels out of place sometimes, [she] has never gotten discriminated against or looked down.”

Alomrani said prayer is the one area where she does not feel fully comfortable at West campus.

“At West campus I avoid praying, just because I do not feel like I have a safe sanctuary to go to,” Alomrani said.

On the other hand, she said Tempe “does a really good job at providing safe resources” that allow students to pray without feeling watched.”

“Praying is a really sacred experience," Alomrani said, adding that the physical nature of Muslim prayer means they “cannot just stop and drop wherever and pray.”

At the West campus, students often rely on a meditation room not designed specifically for spiritual use to pray in.

“At least at the West campus, there is a meditation room called Zen Den in which I go to pray, but people who are not usually there to pray, more to chill, so sometimes it is a little bit awkward being around them,” said Fatima Muhsen, a sophomore at ASU West.

Muhsen said she has never faced discrimination at ASU and believes most stares are “more out of curiosity, rather than judgment." Still, she said misinformation continues to shape public attitudes.

“There is a lot of ignorance out there, and I think it stems from fake news and a misperception,” Muhsen said.

Muhsen said the West campus needs “some type of spiritual room” like those offered at Tempe, to support Muslim students’ needs.

Students across campuses say ASU could improve inclusion by offering private prayer spaces, updating curriculum to include Muslim voices and creating mentorship or social groups for Muslim women.

Many students say ASU’s diversity helps them feel welcome, but believe more intentional support, whether through rooms dedicated to prayer or expanding theological knowledge around campus, would show Muslim women that they fully belong.

Alomrani said she remains optimistic, adding that “our generation is growing up with an open mind and we are finally past that judgment phase.”

For now, Muslim women at ASU continue balancing safety, identity and community in a climate where campus acceptance is steady but outside hostility is hard to ignore.