The Pacific Northwest Prayer Rug Project

Weaving Belonging Across Lands and Lineages

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As Salaam Alaykum Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ* (Peace be upon you all my relatives) *Arabic & Lakota

Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ (Lakota), Indinawemaaganidag (Ojibwe), ʔə tiʔəʔ syaʔyaʔ (Lushootseed) that all of existence is interrelated, is a core idea within indigenous cosmologies of the Americas. For Muslims, this interrelation has to do with the divine essence, the breath that gave life to all of creation, what we would call نَفَس الرَّحْمٰن, the Breath of the All-Merciful. This Interrelation is at the core of the Pacific Northwest prayer rug project as we attempt to explore Muslim life in the Pacific Northwest while also paying respect to whose land this is, with nearly 250 distinct tribal nations and First Nations peoples, who are the stewards of their ancestral homelands.

The PNW Prayer Rug Project, led by the Center for Global Muslim Life, is a cultural heritage and narrative-change initiative that reimagines the prayer rug as a living artifact of migration, sacredness, and belonging. It brings together Muslim and Indigenous artists, designers, and community members to co-create regionally rooted prayer rugs and matching baby blankets that reflect the stories, identities, and ancestral ties of Muslim communities across Washington State, the state of Oregon, and the Province of British Columbia, what is also known as the Cascadia corridor.

Purpose & Approach

• Community Design Workshops: Listening sessions with Muslim families, youth, mosques, Islamic schools, and Indigenous leaders to co-develop rug designs.

• Oral History & Heritage Documentation: Capturing local Muslim migration stories, spiritual practices, and connections to land.

• Collaborative Cross-Cultural Design: Merging Islamic design languages with Coast Salish and other Indigenous aesthetics through ethical, compensated partnerships with Native artists.

Design competition Overview

The Center for Global Muslim Life (CGML) invites you to take part in the Pacific Northwest Prayer Rug Project Design Competition. This initiative reimagines the prayer rug as both a sacred object and a cultural artifact, rooted in the landscapes, communities, and stories of our region.

Prayer rugs are central to Muslim daily life — spaces of devotion, reflection, and belonging. Yet most are mass-produced with designs disconnected from the lived experiences of American Muslims. This competition asks: What would a prayer rug look like if it truly reflected the Pacific Northwest?

Winning designs will be produced, exhibited in Ramadan 2026 at local art galleries, and become part of the Pacific Northwest Prayer Rug Project, which blends Islamic artistic traditions, Indigenous design, and the stories of our diverse Muslim communities.

Competition Tracks

To engage all ages and backgrounds, the competition will include:

• General Competition – open to all ages.

• High School Competition – across all schools and youth ages 14–18.

• Middle School Competition – open to all middle school students.

• Elementary School Competition – open to all elementary school students.

👉 To request a Prayer Rug Workshop at your school, contact: dustin@globalmuslimlife.com

Design Brief & Guidelines

Designs may take two forms, depending on their intended use:

1. Sacred Prayer Rugs (for use in worship):

   • No humans, animals, or animate creatures.

   • No sacred names or imagery that would not be appropriate to place on the ground.

   • Abstract, geometric, calligraphic, or natural motifs are encouraged.

   2. Artistic Display Rugs (for gallery or home display):

   • May include human or animal figures, or sacred words, with the understanding these designs are not intended for prayer but for wall display or exhibitions.

Design Inspirations

• Pacific Northwest Landscapes – forests, lakes and seas, mountains, sky, and local flora and fauna

• Home & Migration – stories of home, migration, and building new roots here.

• Indigenous Design Languages – Coast Salish or other Native traditions, incorporated respectfully

• Islamic Artistic Traditions – geometry, calligraphy, symbolic patterns

• Cultural Specificity – designs rooted in a particular Muslim cultural tradition are welcome and celebrated, even if not blended with others

Prizes & Recognition

• Cash prizes for winning designs.

• Exhibition during Ramadan 2026 at local art galleries.

• Winning designs (3–5 selected) produced as part of the Pacific Northwest Prayer Rug Project, distributed to schools, mosques, and community centers.

Submission Requirements

• High-resolution image of your design (JPEG, PNG, or PDF)

• Short artist statement (250 words max) describing the story and inspiration

• Size format: Standard prayer rug dimensions (approx. 2.5ft x 4ft / 75cm x 120cm)

• The competition is open to everyone, of all faith backgrounds, experiences, and design knowledge

• AI designs will be considered but must be noted within submission, and ideally AI is not the only design tool used within production of the design

Evaluation Criteria

• Artistic Quality & Innovation – strong visual design and creativity.

• Cultural & Spiritual Relevance – meaningful connection to Islamic traditions and the Pacific Northwest context.

• Community Engagement – designs that spark dialogue about belonging, migration, and Indigenous connections.

• Feasibility for Production – adaptable for textile manufacturing.

Deadlines

• November 7, 2025 – Deadline for consideration as one of the lead prayer rugs to be produced.

• January 5, 2026 – Final deadline for entry into the gallery show and school competitions.

Submission & Contact

Submit entries and inquiries to: info@globalmuslimlife.com
Request a free workshops & school partnerships: dustin@globalmuslimlife.com

GLOBAL Prayer Rug Project

This project is the pilot project of CGML’s larger Global Prayer Rug Project and Cities of Global Muslim Impact initiative, which pair local prayer rug designs with regional Muslim impact reports and local cultural and heritage projects which impact the larger region. By doing so, it seeks to reclaim public space, preserve Muslim heritage, and spark long-term systems change in how Muslim presence is recognized across the Americas and around the world.

UPCOMING PRAYER RUG PROJECTS:

• The San Francisco Bay Area

• Los Angeles

• New York

• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• Accra & Cape Coast, Ghana

• Prayer Rug of the Americas

Do you want to bring the Global Prayer Rug Project to your community?
Please reach out to dustin@globalmuslimlife.com

The Pacific Northwest Prayer Rug Project. To pre-order the prayer rug, please make a donation below. The prayer rugs will be delivered, God willing, at the beginning of Ramadan 2026 around February 18th.

Enter for a Chance to Win an iPad & to Join the PNW Prayer Rug Project - One Winner Will Be Chosen at the end of the Project in February (Ramadan) 2026.

PNW Prayer Rug Design Questionnaire - All Questions Must Be Answered to Take Part in Competition