Al-Huda Foundation, USA
the Message Continues ... i1/4
By Shirin Madad
For most people, collage is a great excitement and change. Many enter collage with specific aspirations and particular career goals that they have had for as they can remember. Others realize that they have not fully “found” themselves or what they want to do and they see collage as a time to explore. The uncertainty, excitement, and stress of collage are the same for everyone who enrolls regardless of religion. However for the Muslim student who has typically led a sheltered life, collage can also become a time of great personal confusion and distraction. For this reason, I encourage all of you who are about to enter collage, of are already collage students, to actively participate in your university’s Muslim Student Association (MSA).
I urge you towards joining you university’s MSA or whatever the group may be called on your campus, and not simply a cultural organization. There is nothing wrong with joining cultural organizations that can also be a great source of support and fun. However, as we all know, religion and culture are not synonymous. What some may view as appropriate “cultural” activities, may very well contradict the Islamic values we are raised with. The decision to join a culture organization depends on what is offered on your campus, and it actually is not the focus of this article. Having said that, I want to give you some compelling reasons why you should participate in your university’s MSA.
By being an active MSA member: You have the potential to meet and make other Muslims friends on campus. Collage can be a time of great emotional upheaval; especially for those of you are (or will be) living on campus. In addition to having to make tough decisions regarding your future and career; you also have to find ways to deal with social pressure and pressure and the temptation of some very unislamic recreational activities. Finding other people who you can relate to on a basic moral and spiritual level, can provide a great feeling of comfort and support while making such decision about how to conduct yourself.
You have somewhere to go for prayers, or to celebrate Muslim holidays, while on campus. Most MSA’s have some meeting place on campus usually a room, where members can perform their daily prayers. On Fridays, MSA’s make provisions for Jum’ah prayers and perhaps some Islamic lecture. Most MSA’s will also make some sort of arrangements for Iftar during the month of Ramadan. Breaking the fast with other Muslims in your campus community can be the next best thing for those of you who are unable to spend the mouth of Ramadan with family.
You can potentially learn a lot about how other Muslims view and practice Islam especially when they are from different cultures than yourself. As a South Asian Muslims, mush of how we view Islam is tied by our culture; the same could be said any group of people. In my experience, MSA participants hail from all over the Muslim world and as such, participating on MSA can provide you with the chance to learn about other parts of Islamic world.
You have the chance to stand up for your religion. Let’s face it, there is still lots of stereotyping and hate directed towards Muslims and Islam. By participating in an organized and (hopefully) unified group, you act as a voice for all Muslims on campus. You are part of a group that will speak up in order to educate non-Muslims about Islam, if necessary defend the rights of Muslims to practice their religion on campus.
Often, people’s misconceptions keep them from joining their MSA. Some view MSA as a “fundamentalist” group because only very “religious” people join it. However, on most campuses, as well as in the Muslim world, the individuals who participate in MSA are very diverse group of people. You will meet people who span the range in terms of their level of practice and belief. But therein lies the beauty you not only have the opportunity to find people who think on your wavelength, but also those who will challenge you and your ideas. Some people might find that uncomfortable, but I do not think that should prevent you from joining MSA. As long as you have your beliefs straight, and treat everyone as you “brothers and sisters in Islam” you will have no problems. Everything in college and in life is a matter of priorities. No matter how much you study or work, you will eventually want to relax and hang out at some point. If you give some of your free time to cultivating relationships with other Muslims on your campus, you will at least have some alternatives to joining your other friends in some unislamic activities.