The Muslim Student Association hosted a fundraiser during lunch where they provided henna tattoos from Dec. 14 to Dec. 21.
The funds will be used for the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament in the spring, which is an educational and interactive program of competitions to develop leadership, promote communication, and gain a deeper understanding of Islam. “The event we fundraised for is an amazing experience for Muslims because it gives us the opportunity to see more people like us, being said that Muslims are a minority in America. It’s important because many people each year like to go but can’t really afford the registration fees plus the team outfits and we would like to provide somewhat of financial aid to those who find it difficult to pay. This fundraiser impacts school as it gives kids a chance to go to this event full of these inspirational speakers, competitions, MIST Bowl, debate, on spot essay writing, math olympics and many more. It is overall a great experience that nobody should miss on,” sophomore social media coordinator Rimsha Kamal said.
Senior Shazia Ahmed, the vice president of the club, described the importance of the funds. “It helped raise awareness of the MSA and showed off a bit of the members’ culture and skill as henna artists,” Ahmed said.
The Muslim Student Association is an inclusive cultural club. “The MSA is about people from all different beliefs coming together and learning more about each other. We try to teach kids more about Islam since the way it is portrayed most times on the news isn’t really a good representation,” senior president Hafsa Shahzad said.
Junior Laila Ghorab, the treasurer of the club, explained the main reasons why people should join the Muslim Student Association. “The great thing about our club is that everyone is welcome to join. It is a great way to expand your horizons and learn more about Islamic culture and get to know their Muslim peers at Wootton. We also do a lot of charity work, so anyone who enjoys doing volunteer work or needs hours can join the MSA and help out,” Ghorab said.
The Muslim Student Association has been outlining its future missions and expanding throughout the community. “In the future, our MSA plans on having charity events to benefit others in need, teaching people about Islam, bringing Muslims together, having interfaith events so everyone can learn something new, more fundraisers for different events we need it for, or money to donate to different organizations, etc. People should join the MSA because it’s a chance for anyone to learn something new,” sophomore secretary Samaa Zaman said.
Nitya Kumar
Commons Editor
