One of Grady’s newest clubs, the Muslim Student Association (MSA,) aims to inspire Muslim students to become more active at school while educating others about the Islamic faith.
“I created MSA in order to give the Muslim students at Grady a voice,” said junior Rwan Hayek, who is the club’s president. At MSA’s Sept. 15 meeting, Hayek and vice president Komal ‘Komi’ Siddiqui (a sophomore) discussed with new members the purpose of the organization.
“I joined the MSA because it provides a gateway for me to interact with fellow Muslim peers after school and have fun while learning about our religion,” senior Muhammad Mukarram said.
The club aspires to resolve misconceptions about Muslims and their faith. The association hopes to get more people involved, especially non-Muslims, through word of mouth and visits to advisement homerooms. The MSA will meet every other Tuesday from 3:45 to 4:30 in room IS3 in the trailers near the gym.
“Some people don’t even know [Islam is] a religion,” Hayek said.
She recalled a recent incident in which a girl on the school bus asked her what a Muslim was. Yet, the Pew Research Center named Islam the fastest-growing and second-largest practiced religion in the world with 1.6 billion followers.
“I know a lot of people have questions about Islam, and they go search it on the Internet,” Hayek said. “ What worries me is that people get the wrong kind of information and then they get the wrong kind of idea about Islam.”
The misinformation about Islam at Grady has impacted Muslim students. Senior Nishat Shormi said she initially faced skepticism from her peers when she first wore the hijab, the religious headscarf, to school.
“People would ask ‘What is this? What are you doing?’” Shormi said.
Shormi said she enjoys explaining the hijab and the deeper concepts of Islam to those who approach her. She and Hayek both see the MSA as an outlet for educating students on a broader scale. They said they hope to provide the school with better, more reliable information about Islam than the Internet.
The MSA will host open forums, traditionally called halaqas, for interested students to explore and study various religious topics and to clear up misconceptions and stereotypes about Islam.
To promote school-wide participation outside the club’s bi-monthly meetings, the MSA will organize events and fundraisers throughout the school year. For its first event this month, the MSA is planning an Eid party to celebrate Eid al-Adha, a major holiday which commemorates the sacrifice of Abraham’s son. For the event, the MSA will offer information about the holiday, as well as provide cultural dishes and free henna to students.
Upcoming club events include a fast-a-thon and a hijab day, which Hayek hopes will encourage students to experience and understand the meaning behind certain Islamic practices and customs.
“I’m really excited about all the activities we will be doing,” said sophomore and MSA member Summer Gebba. “Especially hijab day because no one has ever really [seen] me wear one, and I wonder how it will change the views of my classmates by wearing it.”
The MSA plans to hold a henna day monthly for fundraising, where students can purchase henna tattoos. A majority of the proceeds made from the fundraisers will go to relief funds for refugees in the Middle East.
Though henna is used in other cultures, the designs signify celebration in Islam, and Muslims often paint and wear henna at the time of the two Eids.
The MSA also plans to compete in the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament (MIST). Held in March, the MIST is a chance for high school MSAs all over the state to meet and compete in 30 different competitions.
“There’s math, science, debate, art, short film, short story, so everyone has the chance to participate,” Hayek said.
Taking part in the event will allow Grady’s MSA to form a connection with other MSAs in Georgia and build personal relationships.
“The first word [in MSA] is Muslim,” Siddiqui said. “Don’t think it’s only just for Muslims, it’s really for everybody.”
