By Norma Hernandez

Reporter

The Muslim Student Association club at CSU Bakersfield hosts events as part of their ongoing efforts to reveal an honest facet of Muslim culture that most of the media fails to cover. MSA club members are currently deciding on their next event or fundraiser to bring Islamic culture to campus.

One way to meet people from different cultures is by joining a club that is culturally based. MSA is one of those clubs where a student doesn’t have to be Muslim to join.

“People see the word Muslim and the name of the club and they assume that you have to be Muslim to join, but no it’s open for anyone that’s interested in learning about the Muslim community and culture and religion,” said Fatma Ali, a junior majoring in Psychology and President of the MSA club.

The objective of the MSA club is to educate the community through events such as Islam 101, Diversity of Islam, Feminism in Islam, Hijab Challenge, and their henna fundraiser.

“We’re not trying to convert anyone,” said Ashwag Shidawa, a Child, Adolescent, and Family Studies major and Club Secretary.

These events are intended to create a positive and social interaction amongst students and staff from CSUB. Ali said that they do more than just educate the public; they are a social club that hosts off-campus activities for club members as well as community volunteers in Bakersfield.

Shidawa said that last semester they made up to 70 sandwiches to feed the homeless, and in one of their recent club meetings, club members signed up to volunteer at the California Area Living Museum.

“I want [students] to know that it’s not what they think, we don’t sit together and pray, I mean we can do that if they want, but it’s all about socializing, getting to know people, and having a good time and learning,” said Ali.

Hana Qwfan, a junior that’s double-majoring in English and Sociology, is one of the members of MSA and is the club’s Publicist. She said that the club is also about creating a safe space for Muslim students. She encourages people to join but wants to ensure that students keep their minds open.

“You don’t have to be Muslim to join MSA. You just have to be open minded and be okay with [a] diverse [group of] people,” said Qwfan.

Owfan said that much of what the media portrays about Muslims tends to be negative, so what MSA hopes to accomplish is breaking that stereotype.

“We’re not what you see on tv,” said Shidawa.

MSA has been active for about six years now and their events have grown year after year. The club currently has 15 active members, but they would like to see that number grow so that it continues to remain at CSUB, even after the current members graduate.

“We welcome new members. The bigger the group is, the better the club is [going] to be [because] we’re [going] get more help and it’s just fun when there’s more people,” said Ali.

Ali said that there are people who cannot attend their meetings due to conflicts with their schedules, but are still able to volunteer, donate, and attend the events to show their support.

MSA has meetings every Wednesday at noon inside of the Blue Room in the Student Union.

For more information on upcoming events and club meetings, follow @CSUB.MSA on Facebook.