Marwa Aly , 22, who started the chaplaincy program in the fall, asks Watts how she can be more inviting to the students she works with who seem to be rejecting her efforts to reach out to them. In January she started working six hours a week as a chaplain at Manhattanville College as part of her program requirement.

Watts suggests that she try friendly, casual outreach to break down barriers. That way, he says, "You have now broken the ice." When that student needs guidance in the future, maybe they'll think of her because she seemed nice.
During another part of the class, Watts imagines a scenario in which a counselor must decide whether to intervene.

"You will be at the prison with someone you may have seen come to the chapel regularly," says Watts, "All of a sudden, they become reserved, they're not talking." He then gives some examples of what the counselor could do.

Bilal Ansari , 35, who began working as a Muslim prison chaplain 10 years ago and entered the Muslim chaplaincy program in the fall, nods his head in agreement . Soon Ansari raises his hand to make the point that prayer is not always the answer.

"Sometimes they need just a touch," says Ansari. Or a laugh. "They need," he says, "real human physical contact."

Ansari began volunteering as a chaplain in 1997. Now he works two days a week -- nearly 27 hours total -- at a men's prison in Niantic, Conn. Ansari says he decided to enroll in the Muslim chaplaincy program because he realized "that there are areas where I struggled to reach the men sometimes."

One challenge? Tempering the form of Islam the prisoners practiced. Many members of the prison population receive religious materials that gave them an unorthodox, and sometimes incorrect, perspective about Islam, says Ansari. "They think they know what's right and that they have the authority to interpret the scriptures in this way." This mindset created a wedge between the prison staff and the incarcerated Muslims.

By taking the Islamic Law course taught by Ingrid Mattson , the director and founder of the Muslim chaplaincy program, Ansari learned how to give the prisoners a better understanding of the religion.

"That's something I've been very effective at this last year," says Ansari. "Having them turn the corner: There is another way to see this religion."

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