Muslim Student Association

By: Aidan Sheedy

In a suite draped in tranquil décor, colorful lights and religious deities, it hosts arguably the most tight-knit group of student leaders on the Quinnipiac University campus.

Supported by a cast of students of many ages and beliefs, QU’s Muslim Student Association is the epitome of what teamwork looks like in a student organization. With executive board members covering all four undergraduate classes, the MSA has built a foundation for strong student leaders to emerge in the future.

“We have different ethnicities, different cultures, looks, appearances, and skin color,” senior biology major and MSA President Abdullah Farid said. “We have a pretty good establishment, and going forward, whoever takes over can ultimately keep improving on the small things.”

About five years ago, the MSA “suite” was in a minuscule makeshift office space now known as the student employment office, located on the second-floor divider between the student center and Tator Hall. Today, the group resides across the hall in another tight space, but they have decorations and really made it their own.

“This room doesn’t have a single purpose,” Rias Ras, a first-year political science major said. “Because we have such a small room, we try to do the most we can. So this room is decorated for prayers, but also for meetings and socializing.”

According to India Times, there are five obligatory prayers that Muslim people must act in throughout the day called Salah. Because of this, many Muslim students at Quinnipiac had no private spaces to go to complete these rituals in privacy before the MSA prayer space was erected.

“We’re trying to implement an institution like Quinnipiac to promote religious liberation on campus,” Farid said. “We have a church and a synagogue, but we don’t have a proper mosque set up for (Muslim) students.”

This drove Farid to advocate harder for accessible expression of the Muslim faith at Quinnipiac.

“We always felt under the radar as a minority, but also a religious belief that was not recognized on campus,” Farid said. “That also has helped me with leadership and working hard.”

Farid’s leadership has not only helped him grow, but it has encouraged others to do the same. Jasper Paul, a first-year Radiologic Sciences, grew up in a devout Catholic household but wanted to expand her horizons and try something different.

“This organization means everything to me. Coming here as a freshman, this was a place where I could be myself because at home I really can’t,” Paul said. “This is where I can learn all about the religion and these people are my biggest supporters. They’re family.”

At a predominantly-white university with abysmal diversity ratings currently standing at 81.1% white, it’s important to the MSA that they are a part of the positive changes and the future of the university.

“It’s a very strong thing to show awareness that our beliefs are not what many people think they are,” Ras said. “The only way Quinnipiac is going to be more diverse is if they’re welcoming and accepting to everybody and the students have to feel like it’s their home.”