Love in this Club: Muslim Student Association
New club seeks to bring people together for learning and community building
The Muslim Student Association is once again active at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. After a hiccup in 2011, the club has reformed and re-registered with the KSA by a new group of students.
Naveen Zafar and Zainab Ibrahim, two of the four executives for the club, say they wanted to reboot the Muslim Student Association for a number of reasons.
“We want to get rid of misconceptions about the religion and Muslims,” says Zafar. “Another [reason] is to build the community and create a platform to allow people to be who they are.”
She speaks of having to deal with a dual life, having to balance her religion with school and work, and how this is no small task. Zafar hopes that, by bringing students together, they can help others deal with their issues and attempt to solve any problems students might have.
These issues could be anything from finding a good place for meditation or prayer, to dealing with discrimination within the school or workplace. Zafar mentions that is was, “hard to find that balance,” since there were many times when she wanted to take time for prayer, but couldn’t due to external circumstances.
The club started simply enough. Zafar’s friend asked where a prayer room was, and she didn’t have a good answer. “She influenced me,” says Fafar, “you’re already on campus—you could already be doing these things.” This is what prompted Zafar to approach Ibrahim and start talking about creating a club.
“It’s not just about focusing on religious activity,” Zafar continues. “A lot of it is about building a community.” Their first event, put together only two weeks after the creation of the club, was to make welcome cards for refugees. Working with students, faculty members, and anybody else who wanted to help, they made cards and sent them to the Vancouver Welcome Centre, which now hands them out along with clothes, food, and other resources for refugees arriving at the Vancouver airport.
“We wanted to create a welcoming environment for them,” says Zafar.
Ultimately, the Muslim Association says it’s looking to bring people together of all creeds and beliefs. “We’re open to having anyone come to the meeting. It’s definitely not just about Muslims,” says Ibrahim. “It’s for everyone, whoever wants to learn.”
It’s unfortunate, however, that not everyone thinks this way. The club has already seen some harsh words sent their way through their membership application form. The comments were not made public, as they must be approved before being posted on the page.
“Our goal is to educate people,” says Zafar. Part of the reason the club was created is to avoid things like that, because those comments came from a “misinformed viewpoint.” The founding members of the club just want to show that, “at the end of the day, we’re just as human as anyone else.”
