The Muslim Student association was founded by a group of undergraduate and graduate students with the help of Jesus Trevino and Lamont Sellers in 2014. Trevino and Sellers designed the organization to be solely student-driven that resembles Islamic views of community and service for college students.
Currently, the USD Muslim Student Association has roughly 70 to 120 students participating in the club. Abdulla Yousef, president of the Muslim Student Association, said all students are welcome, and that there are many students of different backgrounds who participate in this club.
“One of the main goals of our organization is to help students who participate to find a place that reminds them of home,” Yousef said.
International students within the organization say they feel included within the environment during meetings, Yousef said.
“A common goal among the Muslim Association is to expand their organization by informing college students of the Muslim religion, keeping the celebrating traditions of their culture and making the club a place to remember home by to international students who are studying abroad,” MdRezwane Sadik, vice president of the Muslim Association, said.
Prah Haider, club secretary, said that there is a feeling of community and friendship within the organization.
“One thing I really like about our association is how everyone is so friendly and willing to include anyone in the club,” Haider said.
Weekly Jummah prayer is held every Friday at 2 p.m. outside the ballroom on the second floor of the Muenster University Center. During the upcoming holidays, prayer meetings will be held elsewhere, though the location is yet to be announced.
The Muslim Student Association plans to hold several activities next semester, including Welcoming Night in January, Aftar during Ramadan in April and Eid Celebration in May. The specific days of these events will vary based on the Islamic calendar.
To learn more about this organization, students can email Sadik at MdRezwane.Sadik@coyotes.usd.edu.