The Associated Students of Madison Student Services Finance Committee unanimously approved the 2016-’17 eligibility application for GSSF funding of the Muslim Students Association at its meeting Monday.
The MSA attempts to “provide a strong sense of community and family for MSA members on campus,” according to MSA President Najeeha Khan.
While MSA is a religious student organization based on Islamic principles, not all of their members are religious. The association focuses on breaking down Muslim stereotypes and educating the campus community about Islam.
Halaqas, a discussion series on Islamic topics, is one of the association’s most notable programs. Discussion topics range from current events to religious conversation. Each month MSA also hosts both all-gender Halaqas and single-gender Halaqas discussions.
The Mentorship program is the second core program offered by the MSA. The current program pairs younger students with an upperclassman in their same major to guide them through classes and help with adjustments to a new course of study.
According to Khan, the hope is that with GSSF funding, students will be able to fill out a survey specifying the subject they would like to be mentored on. Students will then be paired with an MSA member who is particularly knowledgeable on that topic.
“Someone who wants to learn more about the Quran might apply to be paired up with someone who has memorized the Quran,” Khan said.
The MSA also hosts an “Islam Appreciation Week” annually. The week features a different event each day in order to educate campus and break down stereotypes.
Last year’s appreciation week featured “Wear a Hijab for a Day,” where women on campus tried wearing the Muslim headscarf. Students were then invited to the Multicultural Student Center to discuss their experiences wearing a hijab.
“As of now our main forms of advertising are Facebook and the newsletter, so the people that come to the events are people who already care about MSA,” Khan said. “Our main thing with the education programming is to get the word out there.”
