At Arlington Career Center, we have students who practice a wide variety of religions and Islam happens to be one of them. In the near future, you might want to learn more about Islam and the Muslim Student Association (MSA) is a great opportunity for that. This educational club raises awareness and understanding of Islam for people who seek interest and who aren’t familiar with it.
In January 1996, the first-ever MSA was established in the U.S. on the campus of the University of Illinois. Their mission was to allow all Muslim students to have a safe space to rely on and to feel comfortable around everyone. Additionally, they wanted to build a closer relationship with the Muslim community which is very similar to the MSA here at ACC.
“MSA can bring the Muslim community together by providing a place for religious and social engagement,” explained Muram Alhasan, an Arlington Tech sophomore.
The MSA at ACC was founded by the ACC Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Office in 2019. Rugia Taha and Reem Omar with the support of Ms. Monica Lozano started to educate ACC about Ramadan and that is when the first ever prayer room was created. The prayer room soon evolved into a club which was very successful with our past sponsor, Ms. Kalsoom, and all of her previous students- Muram, Naziq, Fatima, Husna, Hassan, Mustafa, Belal, and Jy’den. Past MSA participants want all students, including non-Muslims to learn about our club and to know it’s more of a learning environment than a religious club.
“The students’ goal was to not only create a club for Muslims, but for non-muslims as well,” Muram emphasized.
ACC holds a large community of Muslim students who need an MSA to rely on a safe space when needed. MSA members want to be persistent with this club through activism, while also providing opportunities to educate people of other faiths about Islam because it can change people’s perspective on it.
“MSA is a safe place for Muslim students and staff to express their identity, practice their religion, and break down any misconceptions about their Religion,” stated Ms. Kalsoom, a sponsor of MSA.
This year, MSA will be meeting weekly on Thursdays during Archers period in room 105B starting mid-October. Additionally, the sponsors for MSA this school year will be Ms. Doll, Dr. Sanchez, Ms. Monica Lozano Caldera, and Ms. Kalsoom. If you are interested in joining, please contact Ms. Monica – DEI Coordinator.
