MSA-er of the Month March 2013: Nawal Peracha

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The Muslim Students’ Association isn’t much of an association without its community members. MSA-ers routinely go above and beyond the call of duty to plan and execute events and campaigns, share their great ideas, and generally help other members of the community. In recognition of so many contributions, each month an outstanding member is nominated as MSA-er of the Month. The MSA-er of the Month for March 2013 is Nawal Peracha!

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Nawal Peracha is a Junior studying BCN (Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience). Hailing from Monroe, Michigan, Nawal was interested in being involved with the MSA partly because her older sister, Asma, did the same. As Nawal started going to various events and becoming familiar with the MSA community, she developed a personal attachment to the sense of unity, peace, and spirituality that surrounds MSA. Nawal’s main contribution this year was being the MRelay, UM’s chapter of Relay for Life, co-captain for the Muslim Students’ Association. Nawal, along with her co-captain, Syed Ferdous, planned fundraisers throughout the semester as well as the organization of the MSA’s table at the main Relay event on April 20th. MRelay took a lot of publicizing and rallying of community members, Nawal, wished to jokingly apologize for the “avalanche of emails people got from me leading up to Relay” in an email interview. Nawal states that an anthropology course she took influenced how she may assess and solve problems saying “to solve any problem you have to look not just at what’s directly in front of you but also the underlying structural issues that allowed the problem to happen in the first place.”

Why Hijabi Monologues?

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Hijabi Monologues is coming to Ann Arbor this Thursday. Through the power of storytelling, Hijabi Monologues seeks to dispel common misunderstandings and stereotypes about Muslim American life and culture, including, but not limited to the hijab, or Islamic head covering. Our organizers asked members of the performing team about their reasons for joining. Two actresses’ responses are shared below.
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To be honest, I tried out for the Hijabi Monologues because one of my best friends is one of the co-directors.  She knew I enjoyed the performing arts, and thought it was time for my debut in a Muslim production.  I was not sure what to expect—I had heard of Hijabi Monologues, but I had never been to a performance.  But after I became a cast member, I was astonished at the breadth of topics covered in the stories.  I found myself moved to tears and laughter and wonderment as I saw the stories come alive over weeks of rehearsals.  Overall, it has not only been fun to get to work with some amazing actresses and directors, but it has also been eye-opening to more fully explore what it means to be a Muslim American women. I look forward to helping the Hijabi Monologues team share those experiences.

- Sarah Arshad

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Like many, I was first exposed to Hijabi Monologues at MSA’s Winter Mass Meeting a couple of months ago. As a fairly new hijabi, I knew of many of the general stereotypes that we faced. A drive to learn more about the experiences and stories of other Muslim women inspired me to audition. When I was chosen for my skit, I could not have been more thrilled. The directors were very careful (and quite skilled, in my opinion) as they matched the personality of each actress with her skit. The scripts come naturally to many of us and seldom fail to move us every time we rehearse them.

Throughout the past couple of months of rehearsals, I have found myself on the verge of tears, laughing until my stomach hurt, mad enough to punch a wall, and so much more. The stories are powerful and the performers bring an immense amount of emotion and life to the pieces.

Through Hijabi Monologues, I was able to further connect with the piece of cloth I choose to wear on my head. I was able to understand a lot of the general misconceptions that go along with hijabis and Muslim women as well as men while meeting many amazing people in the process. I also learned a great deal about myself, which is just another one of the countless reasons that this was an experience that I am grateful for.

Don’t miss out on this amazing performance! It’s going to be one to remember, inshAllah!

- Rabia Kadwani

MSA-er of the Month February 2013: Amre Metwally

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The Muslim Students’ Association isn’t much of an association without its community members. MSA-ers routinely go above and beyond the call of duty to plan and execute events and campaigns, share their great ideas, and generally help other members of the community. In recognition of so many contributions, each month an outstanding member is nominated as MSA-er of the Month. The MSA-er of the Month for February 2013 is Amre Metwally!

Amre MetwallyAmre Metwally is a Senior studying History as well as Middle Eastern and North African Studies. During his four years at Michigan he’s made an impact on several campus groups, including Model United Nations at Michigan. This year he brought his talents to MSA, helping put on a variety of events. His contributions this year began with the role he played in planning,  organizing, and MCing Dr. Tariq Ramadan’s September visit to Ann Arbor. Not content to rest on his laurels, Amre got to work on MSA’s Social Justice and Activism committee, where he has provided insight and resources during the planning of March’s #MUSLIMRAGE panel. His work helping the Muslim community doesn’t end there, however. “I was often incredibly frustrated with how certain topics were (or just weren’t) discussed,” Amre writes for an email interview. This frustration led him and other MSA-ers to create Intragroup Dialogues, a series of organized discussions that would allow students to share their opinions and understand others’ beliefs on subjects ranging from race to modesty. As his time at Michigan winds down, Amre is making preparations to travel. He encourages others to do the same for personal development: “I think everyone needs to leave the bubble.”

Community Reflection: Bilal Zaidi on the Sacred Time Project

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MSA’s Sacred Time Project is a tradition that goes back nearly a decade. Twice a year, MSA-ers and community members take the unique opportunity to spend the weekend with religious scholars. Bilal Zaidi, an LS&A junior and a veteran of many past STPs, shares his thoughts below on the benefits of attending.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والحمد لله رب العالمين

وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وآله وصحبه وسلم

By the Grace and Mercy of Allah, Most High, we find ourselves at the doorstep of an auspicious weekend to be, God Willing. What I am referring to is not any ordinary event or occasion. Rather, I am speaking of a gathering of light, a heavenly interaction taking place between eager students and scholars who have devoted their lives to the message and legacy brought forth by our Master Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم.

The Sacred Time Project, a name that was coined in 2004 for the Michigan MSA’s first weekend spiritual retreat, holds a very special and dear place in my heart. I was first exposed to the University of Michigan and its first-class MSA through the Sacred Time Project when I was a sophomore in high school. I have made friendships at these luminous weekends that still last to this very day.

Attending the Sacred Time Project has given me a heightened sense of appreciation for the rich tradition that is our deen. I can almost guarantee that there are people who envy our situation, who would love to trade places with us. We have the gift of scholars and people of God, Most High, who travel many miles to impart to us the knowledge, wisdom, and light that they have to offer. Surely it is incumbent upon us to make use of the resources we have, that we may reach our ultimate goal, which is to know Allah, Most High, and seek His Pleasure.

In a well-known tradition of our Master and Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, it is narrated that he صلى الله عليه وسلم  once said, “When you pass by a garden of Paradise, avail yourselves of it.” The Companions asked, “What are the gardens of Paradise, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, replied, ‘The assemblies or circles of dhikr. There are some angels of Allah who go about looking for such assemblies of dhikr, and when they find them they surround them.” (This tradition is found in Fiqh-us-Sunnah Volume 004.)

Such a garden will be made available to us this weekend, God Willing. We would surely be at a loss if we did not heed the command of our Master and Beloved Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and enjoy the company of Allah and His celestial servants. It is an interplay that will have implications not only for our lives in this world, but surely and more importantly for our fate in the afterlife.

STP March 2013

This semester’s Sacred Time Project begins the evening of Friday, March 15th and will run through the end of Sunday, March 17th. Registration for the Sacred Time Project is now open at MSA’s website.

ASB Update: Shamole Ahmed and Farhan Iqbal, 2013 Site Leaders

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The MSA-ers on Spring Break in Virginia kept themselves busy getting to know the area and working with Feeding America, but every now and then they took the time to share stories and musings about what they’ve been up to. In our final 2013 MSA ASB post, Shamole Ahmed and Farhan Iqbal, our two site leaders, share some closing thoughts about the trip.

As you’ve probably heard by now, this year’s Muslim Students’ Association’s ASB was an amazing experience. Besides being able to enjoy the Southern hospitality provided by the Grandin Court Baptist Church, we got to work with Feeding America in their Southwest Virginia center, where we cleaned, sorted, and packaged food to be distributed to food banks nearby.

Others have already mentioned many amazing parts of our trip together. We would like to recap some of it, adding our own perspective about our work, our journey, and most importantly, the people we were with.

It didn’t take longer than the car ride down to Roanoke, Virginia, for many of us to get well acquainted with each other. While some of us may have known each other before the trip, most of us didn’t really know each other. The car ride down was a good opportunity for all of us to have to interact with each other more.

The first thing we did upon arrival was to attend a church service, which Sarah Khan recapped. For many of us, it was our first time attending a religious service of a different faith. It was eye opening for many of us, and we highly encourage people to go out and attend services of a different faith. Whether it be at a church, synagogue, temple, or another house of worship, you will likely learn something new and have a good experience.

What we got out of the service was complemented by the hospitality that the members of the Grandin Court Baptist Church (GCBC) displayed. Some of our ASB-ers agreed that never in our lives had we been treated so well by people who 1) weren’t family and 2) didn’t even know us. As the other blog posts mention, we found baked goods in the kitchen for us every day after work, and the church members even cooked us dinner one night. However, it wasn’t the tangibility of their kindness that shone through. It was the fact that they wanted to sit down and get to know us as individuals; that they took the time out of their day to come chat with us on a regular basis – different people on different days, just checking in to see how we were doing. It was as if we had left our pampered lives in Ann Arbor to be even more pampered in Roanoke. They spoiled us–that’s for sure. And we did nothing to deserve that level of hospitality.

As our work week began, we started to appreciate the size of our group. The 14 of us  were able to develop a somewhat substantial connection with everyone else. We tried our best to keep ourselves all together, and we felt the benefits. We were always in the same places, doing the same thing, eating the same food, and so on. It made us feel this sense of brosterhood that would probably not have existed had we separated for anything. The most beneficial part of being together, though, was definitely the ability to pray five times a day together. Prayer in groups is beautiful, and it is even more beautiful when it is with such an awesome group of people. Alhamdulillah.

Our work itself was indirectly rewarding. We had cleaned, sorted, and packaged food to be distributed to food banks in the Southwest Virginia area. It was somewhat tedious, but I think most of us got through it by reminding each other about the impact we would be making. Ideally, we wanted to see our work benefiting someone directly, but this was definitely affecting a larger group of people, which is what matters more than our own personal selfishness of physically seeing the rewards of our efforts.

Overall, the bonds we made with each other by cooking together, praying together, and, well, doing everything else together, are bonds we hope will only strengthen as time goes on. We enjoyed being able to get away from Ann Arbor, and we encourage everyone to capitalize on this opportunity in the future, whether it be through the Muslim Students’ Association or going on one of Ginsberg’s separate ASB trips.

ASB Update: Nour Soubani

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The MSA-ers on Spring Break in Virginia have been busy getting to know the area and working with Feeding America, but every now and then they take the time to share stories and musings about what they’ve been up to. Nour Soubani, one of the ASB-ers this year, recaps the team’s week in Virginia in this reflection for Friday, March 8th.

For the fourth day in a row, we rush to get out of bed, get dressed, make our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and load into the cars to pull into Feeding America at 9 AM.

Although it was the same routine—wiping cans, packing boxes, checking expiration dates—a certain anxiety came over us as we realized it was our last day.  After half a day of work, we drove to a nearby mosque for Friday prayer. At a masjid we’ve never been to, surrounded by people we’ve never met, we had an experience that brought us back to the universality of our rituals; the Friday prayer was for the most part what we were used to, just in a completely different community.

After prayer, we headed back to Feeding America for our final hour and half of work. We cleaned up the warehouse and met with James, who had a surprise for us. He had been on the radio that morning and talked about our group—about meeting us and befriending us and how he had seen that as a blessing from God. As we listened to the recording, it was bittersweet; it was the end of a short-lived relationship, but the relationship was one that had affected all of us and taught us about having faith and compassion, even with a group of complete strangers. Robert and Jessica, who both also work at Feeding America, joined us for a final round of pictures and thank-yous and goodbyes.

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Done with our work, we went back to the church, changed, and drove downtown for dinner. It was quaint, reminiscent of the streets of Ann Arbor. We settled on Indian cuisine, and as we waited for our food in the warm and dimly lit restaurant, there was a different atmosphere this time than for our first meal together. Everyone knew each other now, and there was never a moment of silence. We were content, enjoying each other’s presence and talking about movies, food, friends, and the past week’s experiences. After dinner, we walked around, got coffee and tea, and headed back to the church to have our final reflection and get ready for Saturday’s trip. During the reflection we talked about struggles with faith, about when it’s hard to stay connected to Allah (SWT), and about striving to handle these times of weakness and make our relationships with Allah (SWT) a consistent part of our lives. At the end of a week of service, the reflection was a way to come back to the ultimate goal: pleasing Allah (SWT) and helping each other to come closer to Him.

This trip was one week, one week that—throughout the rest of the year—would go by unnoticed in the same routine of school, work, friends, family. But this week was special; it was life-changing because of the relationships we built, the generosity we experienced, the conversations we had. It was a time to leave behind the stress and worries of our everyday lives and focus on the things we usually neglect: our spirituality, serving others, talking to people and learning from them, developing goals and worldviews. It was truly a blessing to be a part of this group and learn the lessons we learned, and—returning home—I hope that we can emulate some of these lessons in order to serve our communities through our experiences this past week.

ASB Update: Mahnoor Asghar

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The MSA-ers on Spring Break in Virginia have been busy getting to know the area and working with Feeding America, but every now and then they take the time to share stories and musings about what they’ve been up to. Mahnoor Asghar, one of the ASB-ers this year, reflects on her experience with Feeding America and Grandin Court Baptist Church from Wednesday.

Salaams lovely brothers and sisters,

Today [ed: Wednesday] was our second full day of service at Feeding America, how exciting! We were all feeling enthusiastic, especially since we knew what to expect after our first day. During our break, we discussed our intentions and how important it was to refresh them constantly, instead of getting lost in the routine of the work or the conversations we had with each other while sorting food. We reflected on our experiences while snacking and enjoying each other’s company, making our breaks just as essential to our trip as the actual service work, albeit in a different capacity.

The highlight of our day was definitely dinner. The food, a hearty meal of salad and lasagna prepared for us by the Grandin Court Baptist Church, was fantastic, but the company was even better. We dined with several members of the church community, including Pastor Kevin and his wife, Reverend Brandon, Reverend Melissa, and Patti. We took the dinner as an opportunity to get to know each other–the interfaith dialogue was refreshing! It was fascinating to see how both our faiths have overarching themes of God-consciousness and self-improvement. We discussed some of the sectarian differences and traditions in both Islam and Christianity and how it’s a bit unfortunate that religion can be so divisive when it is meant to be a great unifier. However, it was encouraging to see that this was one challenge we have in common and that we can hopefully overcome together.

During dinner, our church hosts kept expressing their appreciation of us spending our spring breaks doing service in their community. Honestly, we are undeserving of their praise. It’s complete coincidence that we are packaging the food instead of receiving the packages; the status we are born into in society is arbitrary, and we can only take responsibility for how we spend our time and wealth.  If anything, the GCBC deserves praise for their hospitality. Everyone here has been so considerate and there have been multiple occasions when we’ve walked into the kitchen to find it stocked with snacks and baked goods for us. To be honest, I think we were all a little taken aback by our hosts’ genuine kindness and conscientiousness; their generosity is unexpected and their open-mindedness inspiring. We should do our best to implement such a welcoming environment into our own communities!

While we might call this a service trip, I think we all gain just as much as, if not more than, we give. Holistically, our trip consists of so much more than just the hours we spend sorting food in a warehouse. It is defined by the people we meet, from James, our incredibly enthusiastic quality control manager, to Dr. Kevin, the eloquent pastor of the GCBC. It is defined by the relationships we build with communities and organizations like our host church and the local businesses we visit. It is defined by the companionship and camaraderie with our fellow ASB members, which is strengthened by our daily reflections and nightly games of Taboo. Perhaps most of all, it is defined by our intentions to grow closer to Allah by serving a community and by our goal of carrying these sentiments of service and compassion back to our home communities after our trip comes to an end. Until then, we look forward to the rest of our time in Roanoke, Virginia!

Spotlight on a Scholar: Nana Asma’u

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We’ll open with a bit of MSA history. Back when The Michigan Muslim didn’t exist and MSA-ers got their community updates in a printed newsletter, there was a segment called “Spotlight on a Scholar” that ran in most issues of the newsletter. Writers would submit biographies of scholars and leaders who helped change the world for the better, and they’d share some of the takeaways from those role models’ lives. It was an inspiring way for readers to reflect on and revive parts of the tradition that we could all do well to model. In the spirit of reviving traditions, an anonymous MSA-er reminds us about the life of Nana Asma’u.

 

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Nana Asma’u bint Usman Fodiyo was a renowned 19th-century scholar, poet, princess, activist and leader in West Africa (what was then known as the Sokoto Caliphate, located in Northern Nigeria). Throughout her lifetime, she was exemplary in her character, service and achievements. She became an intellectual giant most known for her work and disquisitions on history, theology, law, education, politics, social reform, poetry and mysticism. Asma’u was an influential teacher to all in her community, and she connected with respected scholars throughout the sub-Saharan region. Beginning in 1830, she trained and passed on her vast knowledge to a large number of itinerant women teachers, known as jajis, who travelled to educate women in the poorer isolated rural areas of the caliphate and disseminated her instructive poetic output and knowledge. This educational project began to integrate the already-existing pagan practices of the region with current Muslim traditions and practices, paving the way for a vibrant public education system based on an egalitarian spirit. Nana Asma’u, an early hafeza of the Qur’an, was fluent in Fulfulde, Arabic, Hausa and Tamacheq and well-versed in fiqh and aqeedah, and she skillfully mastered Arabic, Latin and Greek classics. Later in her life, Asma’u became an advisor to the Sultan of Sokoto, where she offered counsel and debated with the scholars, governors and princes of the caliphate. Upon her passing in 1864, Asma’u left a huge poetic corpus—made of historical narratives, elegies, admonitions and lamentations—that became instrumental in instructing scholars, leaders, and citizens about the fundamental principles of a strong community.

To read more about the inspirational life and work of Nana Asma’u, check out the books The Essential Nana Asma’u and One Woman’s Jihad: Nana Asma’u, Scholar and Scribe. The latter includes a short excerpt from one of her most powerful works, The Path of Truth, where she describes Jannah:

Let us dwell there and drink milk and honey
And enjoy bliss together with Ahmada.
For there is no illness, no aging, no poverty
No death: we remain forever
Forever in enjoyment, relaxation and pleasant talk
We walk in Paradise, we have seen Muhammada.

May Allah (SWT) bless and reward this scholar for her immense contributions to her community and to the ummah at large.

Nana

Want to tell the world about another scholar? To pitch an idea or share your own reflections on Islamic history, visit our submissions page on the MSA website.