“I would say there are prominent communities that exist in the MSA, and mine isn’t one of them.”
We have come a long way in developing and creating safe spaces on campus for our social identities, whether rooted in race, religion, or major. But at what point does creating a safe space for oneself start to transgress and reinforce the separation of one’s community from the masses and general student populations?
Currently, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) is thriving. With student sub-projects such as Bruin Dawah, the Beautiful Mind Project, Shifa Society, and many more, Muslim students are given the opportunity to engage with one another in academic and social settings that they find most suitable.
While it is wonderful to have the freedom and luxury to participate in different spaces and be a part of various groups that cater to one’s identity, there is a fear that this proliferation of various groups is a response to a forced separation within the MSA amongst students who differ in identities.
For example, some black Muslim students on campus complain that while Faces of African Muslims (FAM) is a fun club and a necessary safe space for many, the MSA should have already properly provided students with the feeling that they could have prospered within the parent organization rather than propelling feelings that compelled the creation of such a space. This is not to say that FAM should cease to exist in any way, but in fact the opposite. FAM should be able to thrive as it does with further support from the MSA, allowing students to progress within the original club no matter their race or ethnicity. The two entities should ideally work in congruence and equally provide spaces for students to be themselves in their entirety. Many students complain that unless they are an Arab or Desi student, it is hard for them to find their interests represented beyond the shared basis of religion.
Sahar Hussein, a sophomore of Sudanese origin in the MSA states that she doesn’t feel like she has found a community within the club. She states that “because MSA has become so cultural, to an extent, there is a lack of awareness that Sudan, as an African country, practices Islam. In the MSA, there is a really rigid perception of Islam. Countries vary in how they practice Islam and its different versions and extremes and people are not aware of the fact that Islam can manifest in many different ways.” When asked if this affects her motivation to be engaged in the MSA, she answers with the following: “How can I feel included in a community that prides itself in advocacy and the pushing-forward of the mission of Islam to do just things when it stays ignorant to certain prevailing issues that exist in other Muslim countries?”
She goes on to say that “the fact that FAM has to exist is telling…MSA as a whole should be more involved in FAM and these subgroups. FAM was created for a reason…that’s a sign that MSA has to be more receptive to the needs of its constituents. FAM does a good job of offering these spaces for students, but it should not have to. MSA should be a catalyst for FAM, not forcing it to separate and exist.”
It is vital that students in the MSA do not put up subconscious barriers between incoming students and the club. Clubs are extremely susceptible to titles such as “cliquey” or “exclusive,” and these are titles the MSA should, and does, work to actively eschew.
In a conversation with two non-Muslim girls who were interested in getting closer to Islam through the MSA, the students expressed to me their hesitation to come to Jummah, Friday prayers, or even to sit and study in the MSA office due to a fear of being judged and easily discerned as “others.” While I worked to repudiate their claims, I was internally aware of the fact that their predispositions existed for a reason.
The manner in which we present ourselves as a club and as a united faction is a form of dawah. We have a responsibility to engage in external dawah, ensuring that we remain inviting and welcoming to non-Muslims. Simultaneously, we must engage in internal dawah and guarantee that our Muslim brothers and sisters do not feel abandoned from those expected to provide safety, security, and brotherhood. The MSA does a phenomenal job of allowing its students to speak, be heard, and engage with one another in a constructive manner, and with a more conscious inclusion of student subgroups, it can only continue to progress beyond its already flourishing state.
Upon observing the MSA as a student and working in close proximity with many of its members, it can be easily deduced that this self separation is not the intention of the organization nor its students. In fact, the opposite can be said. MSA heads and committees work to include and involve students around them through events, on-campus engagement, and extensive socialization opportunities. The acculturation and disjunction that occurs is more so a result of latent associations that exist in our communities around the world, extraneous from solely campus happenings. The Muslim community around the world has inadvertently affiliated Arab culture with a veracious type of Islam. This Islamic hubris exists within a variety of cultures, many of which we are raised in and continue to gravitate to unintentionally, bringing our predispositions to our college campuses. When joining identity-based groups, students must ensure that they engage in self-reflection and consciously work to engage in inclusive practices.
In a time when it is crucial to elevate and strengthen our community, we can take advantage of our Muslim student body and organizations. It is a privilege to have an organization such as the MSA which invests in its projects and its students, and ensuring we make use of the connections, resources, and opportunities that such an organization provides is vital to addressing the aforementioned divisions that proliferate against our will. Our desires to listen and learn are encouraged by the MSA, and we can assist our community and the many identities that it encompasses by further nurturing these efforts of promoting inclusion in diversity.
Article Author: Sondos Elbershawi