What MSA's Lack
Question: What do you think MSA's lack?
"...In my opinion, MSA lacks the understanding of what it is. You're not Islam on campus; you're a place where Muslims feel comfortable coming. And if the opportunity presents itself, you can also teach something about Islam, or have somebody come and teach something about Islam. But more importantly than anything, that's a place, it's a spiritual and a socially safe place for Muslims to be.
And you have to recognize the fact that there are all kinds of Muslims. It's not like the Masjid. There are all kinds of Muslims, there are Muslims that don't pray at all. There are Muslims, you know, there are girls who do not even look Muslim- but they ARE Muslims. There are guys who have all kinds of lifestyles, but they're Muslim. And maybe the ONLY exposure to Islam they will ever get is the MSA.
I was one of those guys! And if my MSA was like some of your MSA's nowadays, that look at a guy that's not religious and they just scoff at him like, 'what's this guy doing here', then I probably would have never have even come back towards Islam.
Right, so the MSA is supposed to be a place for you to respect people for who they are- You don't tolerate the wrong thing; you don't make it right. You don't say what you're doing is right. But you don't condemn people for the place they are in. You know, this is a difficult time for the Ummah, a lot of people are very far from Islam. You don't want to push them further away.
So it is a difficult challenge for the MSA; don't be frustrated with people, MSA Presidents, and Secretaries and Treasurers. Don't be disappointed with people. Just do your part and that's it. It's a good training for you to learn to be shepherds because you will have to deal with all kinds of personalities, and all kinds of weird and insensible things at the MSA. And that's ok, you do whatever you can. You'll never be able to please everyone, just do a good job and be genuine to yourself and Insha'Allah, that's all that you can do."
"...In my opinion, MSA lacks the understanding of what it is. You're not Islam on campus; you're a place where Muslims feel comfortable coming. And if the opportunity presents itself, you can also teach something about Islam, or have somebody come and teach something about Islam. But more importantly than anything, that's a place, it's a spiritual and a socially safe place for Muslims to be.
And you have to recognize the fact that there are all kinds of Muslims. It's not like the Masjid. There are all kinds of Muslims, there are Muslims that don't pray at all. There are Muslims, you know, there are girls who do not even look Muslim- but they ARE Muslims. There are guys who have all kinds of lifestyles, but they're Muslim. And maybe the ONLY exposure to Islam they will ever get is the MSA.
I was one of those guys! And if my MSA was like some of your MSA's nowadays, that look at a guy that's not religious and they just scoff at him like, 'what's this guy doing here', then I probably would have never have even come back towards Islam.
Right, so the MSA is supposed to be a place for you to respect people for who they are- You don't tolerate the wrong thing; you don't make it right. You don't say what you're doing is right. But you don't condemn people for the place they are in. You know, this is a difficult time for the Ummah, a lot of people are very far from Islam. You don't want to push them further away.
So it is a difficult challenge for the MSA; don't be frustrated with people, MSA Presidents, and Secretaries and Treasurers. Don't be disappointed with people. Just do your part and that's it. It's a good training for you to learn to be shepherds because you will have to deal with all kinds of personalities, and all kinds of weird and insensible things at the MSA. And that's ok, you do whatever you can. You'll never be able to please everyone, just do a good job and be genuine to yourself and Insha'Allah, that's all that you can do."