For our second Student Organization Spotlight, I’d like to introduce a club on campus whose presence is more needed in our current political climate than ever. With the influx of new Muslim students on the St. Kate’s campus and rhetoric about Muslims, it’s important to take part in an open dialogue about breaking the misconceptions regarding Islam. Nastehakeyf Sheikhohmar, a sophomore at St. Kate’s and MSA Treasurer, sat down with me to answer a few questions about MSA.
Q: What exactly is MSA?
Nastehakeyf: MSA, which stands for Muslim Student Association is an organization on the St. Kate’s campus that allows Muslim students to “maintain and increase their faith in a university environment, express their creativity and develop leadership.”
Q: What does being a part of MSA mean?
Nastehakeyf: Being a part of MSA means joining a sisterhood, beyond traveling pants, of course. It also means being committed to not only teach the community about Islam but being prepared to learn from the community as well.
Q: What does MSA do?
Nastehakeyf: MSA reaches out to the non-Muslim community on and off the St. Kate’s campus to break the misconceptions about Islam and Muslims, and to bring light to the true nature of Islam and its followers. In order to do this, MSA hosts events on campus helping to create a dialogue about issues larger than individual members of the community and allow everyone to partake in a meaningful learning environment.
Events such as the annual Noor-Al-Qamar during the fall semester and Islam Awareness Week in the Spring, in conjunction with collaborations with various campus clubs and organizations are a little bit of what MSA does at St. Kate’s.
Q: How do you join MSA?
Nastehakeyf: Just come to the general meetings! MSA meets on Thursdays 12-1pm in the Center for Women. Chances are we have food or lovely MSA members to meet! Reach out to msa@stkate.edu for more information.
Q: Can non-Muslim students join?
Nastehakeyf: Of course! MSA welcomes all students from all faiths (or non-faiths), backgrounds, and cultures.
Whether you’re Catholic, atheist or Buddhist, MSA will always welcome all who come to create a positive learning environment. If you’re looking to get involved in MSA, the week of March 13-17 will be Islam Awareness Week in which there will be an event everyday of the week highlighting the Five Pillars of Islam. From Jeopardy on the Basics of Islam in the Pulse to a Fast-a-thon and more, the week is filled with exciting and fun opportunities to engage with Muslim students and learn about Islam.
Special thanks to Rahma Abufoor, first-year at St. Kate’s, for the picture!