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Assalamu Alaikum,
Dear Muslim students:
Welcome
to MSA National's October edition of the E-letter! If you have an MSA success
story or would like to share your MSA news, we would love to hear from you. The
deadline for submissions is the 15th of each month. Please
send all submissions and direct any questions to eletter@msanational.org.
Please
note: MSA National does not endorse and is not responsible for any of the
activities, events and projects listed in the E-letter
other than those organized by MSA National
itself.
Thank-you,
Your E-letter Team
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| From the President's Desktop |
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Salams MSAers! I hope you had a beneficial Ramadan and an exciting Eid.
The past four weeks have been filled with conference calls and meetings to voice the concerns of Muslim Students and provide MSAs with resources to combat prejudice on campus.
This month I had the honor of attending a roundtable and iftar at the State Department, an iftar by the Congressional Muslim Staffers with keynote speaker Congressmen Ellison, an iftar with members of the Department of Homeland Security, and a meeting with Congressmen Meeks (D-NY). In addition to many meetings with other Muslim organizations including the American Muslim Taskforce (AMT), I also met with members of the Republican Party to discuss concerns with anti-Islamic events on campus.
Our zonal reps and task force members worked hard to promote and help MSAs plan a "Peace...Not Prejudice" campaign. Over 100 MSAs will host a PnP campaign this fall. I am ecstatic about the enthusiasm and dedication of so many MSAers to reach out to the larger campus community and dispel stereotypes. I had the pleasure of meeting with many MSAs including the George Washington University MSA. On a national level we will continue working with media outlets and organizational leaders to showcase the amazing work MSAers do everyday and raise awareness about prejudice.
In the spirit of Ramadan and building bridges, over 200 MSAs continued the tradition of the Fast-A-Thon. Personally I had the pleasure of attending several events, and speaking at the University of Maryland's Fast-A-Thon.
 In addition to several zonal and nationwide conference calls to discuss the PnP campaign, COMPASS, the management training task force of MSA National, held a conference call with over 35 MSAs entitled "Talking to the Media". Based on the positive feedback from students, COMPASS is exploring expanding their virtual training program. Our Information Technology Task Force worked hard to further develop our website. Updates include an "In the News" section that includes articles about MSAs around the country. From scholars like Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Imam Suhaib Webb, Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Imam Zaid Shakir, Dr. Suliman Yang and many others, I have been overwhelmed by our community's support for the Muslim students and MSA National's "Peace...Not Prejudice" campaign. I look forward to attending and hearing about PnP events! Wassalams! Asma Mirza President MSA National |
Updates From Your Zonal Reps
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East Zone USA
Asalaamu Alaikum EZers!
EID MUBARAK! May Allah accept your duas and
ibadah.
Let's try to keep our faith as strong as it
was during Ramadan.
InshAllah there is a lot to look forward to
this semester. With Ramadan being over, a lot of MSAs participated in the
annual Fast-A-Thon, raising money for various causes both locally and globally.
Also, with the launch of the "Peace...Not Prejudice" campaign across
many campuses throughout North America, we hope to show a unified front against all anti-Islamic
sentiments. If your MSA is interested in participating, make sure to check it
out at http://www.msanational.org/projects/pnp
Be on the look out for monthly zonal
conference calls coming to an MSA near you! Topics will range from calls with a
scholar to informative talks about different MSA projects. You got something to
share? Well we got time to hear!
Jazakallah Khair,
Wassalaam!
Sumrah Haider
East Zone Rep USA,
'07-'08
ezrepusa@msanational.org
http://www.msa-national.org
http://www.muslimstudents.info/
Central Zone USA
Welcome to the Central
Zone! There are many exciting things coming up for the Central Zone. We
will be announcing the Conference site for Central Zone by November 2007, so
keep posted for the location. The zonal conference calls will also begin in
November and the launch of the new zonal website will occur by November as
well.
The Central Zone Committee
is as follows:
Administrative Affairs: Sosan Azmeh
Outreach Coordinator: Keran Gaziani
& Uzair Mansuri
Affiliation Coordinator: Rabia Khan
Project Coordinator:
Internal (Iman Sediqe):
External (Sana Kazi):
Webmaster: (Reem Rahman)
Public Relations/Media: (Ihssan Tahir)
The committee chairs are
currently seeking active leaders in your local MSA's to join and help the
committee flourish. There are still a few states within the Central Zone that
are also in need of state representatives as well. For more information on the
committee or to get involved, please email czrepusa@msanational.org!
East Zone Canada
Assalamualaikum
East Zone Canadians!
Eid Mubarak!
Alhamdulilah this Ramadan there were many initiatives to raise
awareness
about Ramadan and funds for our local and international relief
agencies.
The
annual Fast-a-Thon took place at numerous campuses and the
impact surpassed previous years. To showcase participating MSA's efforts,
please email ezrepcan@msanational.org
the details of your event and its
impact on the community so we can highlights.
There are a few positions on the zonal task force, please email
me for more
information to join the team. We are looking for
representatives from
Maritimes
and Quebec.
October 26 is National Pink Hijab Day to raise awareness for breast cancer and a fundraiser for the Susan G
Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. For
details to promote this at your campus, contact Yasmeen Khattab
at
yasmeenkhattab@yahoo.com.
Don't forget to join the
East Zone Canada Facebook group today!
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MSA National does not endorse and is not responsible for any of the
activities, events and projects listed in the E-letter other than those
organized by MSA National itself. The following activities, events and
projects are not organized by MSA National:
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MSAs in New Orleans Rebuild During Thanksgiving Weekend
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The MSA of Loyola University New Orleans, with support from various other MSAs in New Orleans are holding a retreat for MSAs from all over the country. This program will be held during Thanksgiving break and it aims at rebuilding mosques and other buildings that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Please help this program be a success as there are still a number of vacant spots remaining. For more information contact: msa@loyno.edu.
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NYU Muslims Lack Place to Cleanse
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By: Morgan Turnage
Hands and arms, mouth and nose, face and head, ears, neck and feet. Washing each in succession, Muslim students prepare for their daily ablutions. They balance precariously upon the sink, flamingo-like, with one leg on the floor. These students are performing a sacred Muslim ritual - in the Bobst Library second floor bathroom.
In the Islamic faith, cleansing of the feet is required at the beginning of each of the five daily prayers, called Salah. The benefits received from Salah are multiplied when followers pray together, so spots like the second floor corridor in Bobst are frequented at specific times of the day by praying students. Because of the potential dangers of the sink-balancing act, some universities have begun installing footbaths. These universities hope that the new facilities will prevent student accidents.
"We haven't received any student complaints on this issue," university spokeswoman Kelly Franklin said in an e-mail, "but we are looking at it as part of our planning process as we look to meet the needs of all of our faith-based communities on campus, specifically in the new multifaith facility we are hoping to build on the Catholic Center site."
Franklin is referencing the Thompson Street Catholic Center, which has an Islamic Center in the basement. The Islamic Center has raised a half million dollars in the hopes of building a new multifaith center.
Muslim Chaplain Khalid Latif insisted that the Muslim community has a pretty good relationship with the university as a whole, and he isn't putting in a formal request for footbaths. But Princeton University, where Latif once worked, is installing footbaths and he recognizes the benefits of proper facilities.
"The students here are going to have to wash up for their prayers, and the bathrooms are not made for that stuff," he said. "Sinks aren't made to have your foot in them. They slant, water splatters everywhere, and the bathrooms begin to smell."
The sink problem has also brought financial problems to the Islamic Center. When asked whether the footbath situation had caused problems, Latif said the Islamic Community once met in the Tisch Auditorium for a special occasion that drew in 250 people. After they were finished, cleaning the water off the floors cost the Islamic Center between $1,500 and $1,600.
Stern junior Haseeb Chowdhry said he receives "weird looks" when he washes his feet, but otherwise using Bobst has not been a huge problem.
"It would be better to install footbaths, but it isn't something I've thought of before now," he said.
CAS senior and Islamic Center President Arsalaan Ahmed added, "We grew up with it."
Ahmed is used to washing his feet in NYU's bathroom sinks, and said that most people find humor in walking in on a foot-washing student.
CAS junior Hannah Chaudry adds that designated footbaths would be convenient, because on most days she has to make her way over to the Islamic Center for a welcome environment in which to pray, and the looks from other students can be distracting.
"People just look and turn away," she said. "They don't make it a big deal, but I wonder if they will think I'm crazy or even know what I'm doing."
The solution to Chaudry's problem could be easily solved, according to Latif.
"All they would have to do is use the pipes that are already there and add spigots, and use elevation for drainage," he said. "It's better for students not to have to walk into a dirty, smelly bathroom."
Morgan Turnage is a contributing writer. E-mail her at features@nyunews. com
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Columbia MSA Celebrates 50th Anniversary! |
Congratulations to the Columbia MSA, celebrating its 50 year anniversary! May Allah swt continue to bless your efforts! |
Congratulations to Leila Prasertwaitaya
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The VCU Muslim Students Association would like to congratulate our very own Sister Leila Prasertwaitaya on her winning of a $1,200 research grant from the VCU Arts Department. Sister Leila, a fourth year Art History major at VCU, will be examining the influence of Islamic architecture on VCU's Monroe Park Campus, particularly the presence of purely Islamic architectural elements in buildings on campus. The findings of her study will be published in a catalogue entitled "Untangling the Arabesque" and will be placed in the Special Collections at VCU's Cabell Library.
Not only does Sister Leila's work enrich our understanding of our community's diverse heritage, but it will also insha'Allah bring to public light some of the positive contributions of Muslims to the Richmond area. We ask you to join us in congratulating our sister on her achievement and asking Allah to bless her work and make it successful.
Zaynah Qutubuddin
President, VCU Muslim Student Association
qutubuddinz@vcu.edu
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Volunteer in India this Summer
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Indian Muslim Relief &
Charities (IMRC) will begin accepting applicants for the 2008 Summer Volunteer Program
starting November 1st. Summer Volunteers spend five weeks traveling throughout India to learn about the challenges of
non-profit work in a developing country. The program focuses on the broad
scope of issues impacting India including, Child Poverty, Women's Economic
Empowerment, Urban Slums, Affects of Muslim-Hindu Riots and Health Care.
The program also organizes sight-seeing trips and lectures on Indian
History & Religions.
The link below provides details about the program www.summervolunteer.org
If you have any questions about this unique volunteer and travel opportunity
please contact the email addresses below.
Best regards, salaam,
Altaf Ghori
Program Director
director@summervolunteer.org
Soofia Ahmed
Program Coordinator
soofia.ahmed@gmail.com
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The Muslim Students Association National, headquartered near Washington
D.C., has been serving Muslim students on colleges and university campuses across the United States
and Canada since 1963. There are over 250 MSA chapters on university and college campuses throughout the
United States and Canada.
Sincerely,
Your MSA National Board of Directors:
Ex-officio: Mohamed Sheibani
President: Asma Mirza
Vice President of the USA: Hajar Abdul-Rahim
Vice President of Canada: Zeina Sleiman
Treasurer: Randa Kuziez
Your MSA National Zonal Representatives:
East Zone Canada Rep: Qudsiyya Zalgaonker
East Zone US Rep: Sumrah Haider
Central Zone US Rep: Nura Sediqe
West Zone Canada Rep:
West Zone US Rep: Zeeshan Qasim
Your MSA National Task Force Chairs:
Community Service: Sohaib Jamal Khan
COMPASS: Idris El-Bakri
Media and Communication: Zainab Khan
Information Technology: Meraj Ahmed
Programs: Chancey Gannett
Your MSA National Office Staff:
Asma Rehman
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Spotlight on MSA
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MSA
National congratulates the MSA at Wright State University for its amazing work
this semester. The MSA not only strives to unify the Muslim students on campus,
but also seeks to work together with the entire campus community to promote
tolerance and understanding. To serve this end, the MSA hosted the Ramadan
Fast-a-thon this year and it also offers students opportunities to deepen their
knowledge of Islam through weekly meetings. Keep up the great work!
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