First meeting of Fall 2010

Salamz all,

Please join the MSA for our first meeting of the 2010-2011 academic school year. We’ll be meeting at 5pm on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at the Middle Eastern Resource Center (MERC) in the Student Resource Building (SRB) near the Pardall tunnel at UCSB.

Everyone is welcome, regardless of religious or non-religious background. Come meet your MSA and share some snacks and tea with us as we kick off the new school year!

Please visit our website at www.ucsbmsa.org
To stay updated, please join the UCSB MSA group on Facebook!

And Subscribe to our newsletter for important updates:

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Welcome Back! – UCSB MSA

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Assalamu ‘Alaikum,

I hope all of you are well and ready for the beginning of a new academic year. InshAllah, we will all be seeing each other soon. I hope everyone is just as excited as I am. But in midst of all the excitement of beginning a new school year, we must bear in mind our responsibilities as an association of Muslim students.

Muslims in America are faced with tensions, hardships, and discrimination brought about because of misunderstanding and fear.  We as Muslims are facing something similar to what the African Americans and Latinos endured in the pre-civil rights era.  Our brothers and sisters are harassed daily at airports, in universities, at work, and in their own community centers. People who are trying to take part in American society are being prevented from building community centers and mosques as new roots for themselves and future generations.  In parts of America — our own country — some Muslims and Islamic Centers have even been the targets of violent attacks.

Brothers and Sisters, we need to remind ourselves that we are chosen to be leaders for a reason. Every one of us has been put into our current circumstances by Allah S.W.T (dude above) who has appointed us to these duties, and we are being tested by Him.  We must work together in the MSA to serve our sisters and brothers in our university and the surrounding community by dedicating ourselves and giving what feels difficult to give from our time and effort. We all are struggling with busy schedules and heavy workloads, but believe me if there is anything we can do right now that can make a real difference in people’s lives, it is reaching out to the community as Muslim students, to let people see this beautiful character and way of life we were taught by the Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon him.

Those of you who are newcomers to Santa Barbara will soon learn how blessed we are to be here.  The people of Santa Barbara are a warm and thoughtful community inspired to strive for inter-religious harmony and mutual understanding. After 9/11, members of other local faith groups came immediately to the Islamic Center to say that they knew the attacks had nothing to do with us, and that we should know that in Santa Barbara we will always be among friends. Recently, despite the negative representation of Muslims popularized by the media, more and more intelligent and sincere people are approaching the Muslim community with questions, hoping to get to know more about us and our faith.

Let’s reach out and work with the university community within our reach. Let’s build bridges. We can establish a united and well organized MSA that can provide a comfortable space for Muslims in the midst of surrounding fitna and where anyone is welcome to come and learn about Islam and the Muslim-American culture. As Muslims we strive to be the pillars of our local community and also its ornament; we strive to be model examples of humanity and express the best of human dignity and compassion.

As Muslims, we should not hide or isolate ourselves from the world. Ignorance today is being spread in the media so fast that it will take all of our combined efforts to repair the damage and build bridges.  It is imperative that we extend a friendly hand to our neighbors and provide education to foster greater understanding.  We must do this for the sake of our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, for our children and for our neighbors. Today we the UCSB Muslim Student Association need to stand in solidarity with the entire Santa Barbara community to overcome ignorance with knowledge and truth, and to put an end to discrimination by creating a relationship of peace and harmony with our neighbors.

Welcome back everyone, and welcome home. Let’s be ready this year to give this MSA our full attention and utmost effort.
Sincerely and Respectfully Yours,

UCSB MSA

UCSB Muslim Student Association

MSA meets every Wednesday at 5pm at the Middle Eastern Resource Center (MERC) in the Student Resource Building (SRB) at UCSB.  Visitors are always welcome!

Please visit our website at www.ucsbmsa.org
To stay updated, please join the UCSB MSA group on Facebook!

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessing be upon him) said : You shall not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Should I not direct you to a thing which, if you do, will foster love amongst you? Give currency to the practice of greeting one another by saying as-salamu ‘alaikum [Peace be upon you]. (Sahih Muslim Book 001, Number 0096)

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