While at the MSA West conference this year at UC Berkeley, Rahman encountered the booth for United for Service, a non-profit organization that takes volunteers to developing countries in order to understand the every day challenges and improve the conditions of the citizens. While on the trip, the volunteers work with different non-profit groups to understand the different health, educational, and social needs of the poor and take different measures to aid them.

The organization also gives the training and tools to volunteers on how to work for other social causes when they return home. Despite the application being due in two weeks and knowing that only a handful of applicants would be chosen, Rahman decided to take a chance at her dream and apply.

A few months later, Rahman opened her email to find out that she was one of only fourteen applicants chosen to volunteer inIndia. Reminiscing about the moment, Rahman talks about the excitement she felt when she realized her dreams were about to come true. “I am extremely excited for the opportunity to see first-hand how non-governmental organizations work in impoverished regions. I am going to be able to visit schools for under privileged children, orphanages, and government funded hospitals, inshAllah helping to make a change.”

Rahman’s trip lasts from June 29, 2012 until July 21, 2012 but by April 15, 2012, she must raise $3000 USD in order to cover the costs of her trip. Rahman has asked her friends and family, sent emails, and appealed on Facebook in order to raise money. She still needs $1438 USD to reach her goal and set out on a trip of a lifetime.

To find out more about Rahman’s cause and contribute, visit her website.

Another important topic I feel I must take the opportunity to comment on, relates to the events which took place at the University of California Irvine’s campus. 11 members of our Muslim community were improperly treated and unjustly dealt with for practicing a constitutional right, of all Americans. I know that the event I’m talking about has been mentioned many times before and you may be overwhelmed with the plethora of opinions about it, but unfortunately here’s one more.

Whether you agree with the approach or not you must admit that the actions taken by the 11 UCI students accomplished an increased awareness of the current situation on the UCI campus, regarding the Palestinian Israeli conflict. It has been brought to light how UCI has become a hotspot for the issue. I not only agree with how they dealt with it I feel it is our duty to support them. Remember, as a Muslim you should always give your fellow Muslim brothers and sisters at least 70 excuses before reaching your final opinion, and you should never pass judgment on anyone for that is not your right, judgment of intention is only determined by Allah(swt).  So for all those who feel this event has caused for us to take two steps back, I recommend for you to reassess your opinions and determine whether it is opinions against our fellow brothers and sisters which will cause for us to stand still.

Salaam Walaikum,

Mohammed Raouf Iqbal

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

     The 11th Annual MSA West Conference was recently held at UC Riverside. For me personally, it was my first annual MSA West Conference, and to be perfectly honest, I was not as excited before the event as I should”ve been. When I had first registered for it, I was thinking, Man, a whole weekend wasted (stakhfar”Allah)¹?, and I was arrogant and ignorant enough to believe that it really was not going to benefit me”I mean, what more could the speakers and various workshops tell me, that I didn”t already know? Subhan”Allah²,  this train of thought quickly changed.

     One of the Arabic words used to describe human beings in the Qur”an is insaan. It comes from the verb, nasia, which means to forget, and, subhan”Allah, we truly are forgetful. This is exactly what happened to me, because what I thought I already knew, I had actually forgotten. This sounds a bit complex, but it isn”t. For example, I know that there is oppression and an illegal occupation taking place in Palestine right now, but I forgot that I could make others aware and write letters to our political leaders; I know malaria is infecting and killing countless Africans, but I forgot that it was easily preventable and that I could do something to help. See the pattern? It is always easy to gain knowledge and to know, but it is so much easier to forget the potential of that knowledge to do some good. We are so focused on our lives that the problems plaguing this world seem to wander off into the dark cellars of our mind. We are aware of the problems, we just choose to not to do anything about it. Thus, we need constant reminder that they still linger and that there are a myriad (word of the day) of options and resources we can utilize to help those in need. After the reminder, we get pumped up and inspired, but then, weeks later, we forget again. Then we are reminded again, then we feel inspired again, then we forget again, and so forth, and so forth. But when is this cycle going to stop dragging on? When are we going to stop waiting for the reminder, and instead, be the reminder? I know we are called insaan, but this is just one of the words Allah uses to describe us. You know another one? I”ll give you a hint”this word refers to a certain group of people, specifically the believers. Exactly”Muslims. We are Muslims, and as Muslims we are obligated to gain knowledge and transform that knowledge into action, instead of harboring it inside. After all, Islam, when practiced properly, is the only way of life that is immune to forgetting, as we are constantly in a state of dhikr³ of Allah and our Ummah⁴.  It is the foundation which cannot crumble and it is the best foundation to begin taking action from.

     Brothers and Sisters, the most important lesson I learned from MSA West Conference is that before 9/11, we were so active, but ever since that fateful day, we have been too afraid to step up and be the voice this world needs. We are all capable”we all have Allah, and from Allah, we are blessed with resources, like schools and masajid. It is just a matter of understanding and utilizing that knowledge, and serving as that constant reminder for the entire world to see.  

     Anything I said that you agreed with or liked”that is a blessing from Allah, and anything I said that you disagreed with or did not like”that from my own shortcomings. Jazakum Allahu Khairan.   

¹I seek forgiveness from Allah.
²Glory be Allah
³Remembrance
⁴Muslim community