MSU Muslim group sticks to its values

While the MSU Muslim Students’ Association is open to compromise, an organized trip to a casino wouldn’t be in the cards, Maweza Razzaq said.

Razzaq, the group’s president, said the trend to follow strict Islamic values or adopt a more liberal approach is influencing the more than 200 MSAs nationwide to choose a side rather than find a happy medium.

However, MSU’s MSA has chosen to remain on what the group’s leaders consider to be middle ground.

“MSA is a community, and if you lean too far to one side, you’re really going to isolate other groups of people,” said Razzaq, an interdisciplinary studies in social science senior,.

“You need to have some sort of compromise.”

However, there is a difference between compromise and abandoning principles, which is what Razzaq said the MSA chapter at the University of California at Davis did when they planned a coed road trip to Reno, Nev. to gamble.

“Gambling is one of those things that’s a no-no,” she said.

“For them to do that as an MSA thing kind of upsets me. People aren’t sticking to basic Islamic morals.”

Graduate student Kashif Saleem said there have not been any incidents regarding disrespect toward Islamic traditions in the five years he has been involved with MSA.

“In any organization, a good mix of different viewpoints is desirable,” said Saleem, a graduate adviser for MSA.

“At MSU, there are different ways for Muslims to practice their religion. We never do things just one way. We do things different ways on purpose to balance the social aspect of life with the spiritual aspect.”

It seems other MSA chapters are finding it difficult to strike a balance and accommodate the needs and requests of all of its active members, Saleem said.

“With growth comes people from all sorts of demographics,” he said.

“There are people from the right and people from the left.”

Bashir Hakim, head of public relations for the group, said since last school year, MSA has gained about 30 new active members, which he said could be attributed to the organization’s inclusiveness.

“At our meetings, the men sit on one side and the women sit on the other,” said Hakim, a psychology junior. “It’s not forced. It’s out of respect toward each other and modesty. We were raised in that fashion.”

There is a need for gender-specific seating areas at certain events and group meetings to keep members from feeling uncomfortable, Razzaq said.

However, creating separate events for men and women is too conservative, she said.

“There are some people who want to change this and sit together, but as president, I have to decide which way MSA should go,” Razzaq said. “I hear both sides. The trick is to take the middle road.”

Coed spiritual and community service events and separate social events are the “middle road,” she said.

MSU’s chapter is still in touch with its traditional Islamic values, but that didn’t stop members from electing a female as its president.

The group has evolved since spring 2006, doubling the number of women on its 12-person executive board. Today, there are an equal number of men and women on the board.

“MSA has a huge female presence,” Razzaq said.

“When I first came, it was the guys that had a huge presence. It shifted. I am proud to be a woman leader.”

Published on Wednesday, March 19, 2008