Muslim Student Association is looking to expand to all three campuses
Don’t tell the Muslim Students Association (MSA) that the club is only a year-old, because despite its youth, the MSA has the reach and growing membership of a long-established group.
“Being Muslim, part of my responsibility is to help grow our community, to promote inclusivity, and just create a good Islamic atmosphere for Muslims at George Brown,” explained Belal Saleem at the welcome dinner held on Nov. 7 in the Kings Lounge at St. James campus.
Saleem, a third-year human resources student, joined the MSA in September. He said that though the group identifies as Muslim, the goal is to help the George Brown College community as a whole, regardless of faith.
With roughly 60 members currently subscribed to their email feeds and WhatsApp group. Group members also do outreach to recruit interested students.
The MSA started at Casa Loma before expanding to St. James. The group now plans to expand to Waterfront campus where, Shahaab Khan said, the group is still looking to recruit student representatives to run their operations.
When the group started in 2015, it was formed because of a need to address a lack of prayer space for students at George Brown. The MSA now holds regular Friday prayers in room C411 for women and C412 for men at Casa Loma. Going forward, the MSA plans to offer students religious events, community gatherings, workshops, fun dinners, as well as prayer services.
“I want GBC, in general, to know that the MSA is a group that is very inclusive, non-judgemental and brings about peace,” Khadija Alibaksh, who currently serves as the lead representative for the group at the St. James campus.
Alibaksh, a second year project management student, has been with the MSA since January 2016. She joined the MSA because the club has always made her feel safe to practice her faith and to learn while engaging with like-minded people. As a Muslim, Alibaksh sees herself growing stronger in her faith in the fond friendships she has made while building the MSA community.
Students interested in becoming a member may contact their campus representative. For St. James, contact Alibaksh at khadija.alibaksh@hotmail.com; For Casa Loma, email Khan at shahaabk.sk@gmail.com.
