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The Muslim Students Association, or Muslim Student Union, of the U.S. and Canada, also known as MSA National, is a religious organization dedicated to establishing and maintaining
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ic societies on
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es in Canada and the United States. It serves to provide coordination, community, outreach and support for affiliated MSA chapters in colleges across North America. Established in 1963, the organization now has chapters in colleges across the continent, and is the precursor of the
Islamic Society of North America The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a non-profit Muslim religious organization based in the United States and serving North America. It provides a number of programs and services to North America's Muslim communities and broader societ ...
and several other Islamic organizations. The Muslim Students Association has at times been the subject of scrutiny; for example, the
New York Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
(NYPD) targeted MSAs across several US college campuses for monitoring as part of their Muslim surveillance program.


Organization

The Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada is also known as MSA National. It is an
umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and iden ...
for all of affiliated chapters at various campuses across the continent. Local chapters are only loosely connected with the parent institution, and often take different names, such as "Islamic Students Association", or "Muslim Discussion Group". Not all campus Muslim groups are necessarily affiliated with MSA National. There is no fixed hierarchy between MSA National and local chapters; as such, the policies and views of the national organization are not necessarily shared by local chapters. The United States and Canada are divided into five zones, three in the US and two in Canada. Each zone has a zonal representative, chosen by the members of the affiliated chapters within that zone. Chapters make up regional councils.


History

The first MSA National chapters were formed in 1963 at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
in
Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
and at the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...
(UIUC) by international students. The initial leadership primarily came from Arabic-speaking and Urdu-speaking members, with guidance from students of the Egyptian-based
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
and Pakistan-based
Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Isla ...
Islami movements. A Saudi Arabian charity, the wahhabist
Muslim World League The Muslim World League (MWL; ) is an international Islamic non-governmental organization based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate values. The NGO has been funded by the Saudi gov ...
, provided early funding for the groups. Early goals for the movement included the promotion of "a self-definition
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
involves initially and fundamentally nIslamic identity" of its members, as well as an appropriate Islamic lifestyle while they were in the US. With time, MSA groups became more interested in seeking how to integrate and institutionalize Islam and Islamic culture into American life. Current issues such as the position of women in Islam and problems in the Islamic countries began to be debated. The groups proved important as mobilizers in developing increasing Muslim political activity in the United States. Student leaders, as these graduated, went on to form the
Islamic Society of North America The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a non-profit Muslim religious organization based in the United States and serving North America. It provides a number of programs and services to North America's Muslim communities and broader societ ...
. From the 1960s onwards, the MSA engaged in educational activities, including the translation and publishing of works by major Islamic scholars. In 1966 MSA founded the Islamic Book Service, to distribute magazines and books. In addition, books about Islam were distributed on campuses to both Muslims and non-Muslims. In the 1970s, a
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
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''Fiqh'' is of ...
, or legal council was established by MSA; initially the fiqh rendered opinions on minor issues such as the start of Ramadan. By 1988, however, it was making decrees on a broad range of religious and social issues. In 1994, after nearly 12 years of being virtually defunct, MSA National's leadership held a first-ever strategic planning retreat at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
in
Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
, bringing 27 undergraduate and graduate students from around the US and Canada together. This retreat would spark the re-emergence of MSA National as an independent, unique organization with a dedicatedly first and second generation focus. Nearly all of the 27 students were born or raised in the US and Canada, and were of the next generation of North American Muslims, signifying a radical shift in MSA National's future direction. From 1994 onward, MSA National held conferences on college campuses, convention centers and mosques around the US and Canada, with no guidance and direction from any other group or organization. Fifteen years later, by 2010, yet another generation was poised to take the leadership of MSA National. Activities such as Project Downtown, the Fast-athon, and other regional and national projects were born. Now all of MSA National's leadership was born in the US and/or Canada, and MSA began to make its own decisions and take positions on a variety of issues without regard to other groups or organizations.


Activities

Today, the organization is present in various forms on several campuses across the United States and Canada. In contrast to early membership, members are now frequently American-born Muslims. Activities include prayer times, lectures, discussion, and social events, and seek to unify Muslim students from different cultural backgrounds. At a campus level, groups lobby universities for recognition of Islamic holidays and prayer times, the availability and size of prayer rooms and for the provision of religiously permitted food on campus. MSAs engaged in various charitable activities. They raise funds through events known as " Fast-A-Thons", which originated at the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...
in
Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
. The MSA launched a "Peace ... not Prejudice" campaign to dispel stereotypes and paint Islam in a positive light.


Islam Awareness Week

Islam Awareness Week was a project started in the early 1990s by the Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada. Its aim was to introduce Islam on a unified platform to all university and college campuses. During this week, each MSA offers information through a variety of resources and organizes activities in order to promote an understanding of Islamic principles and ideals. Information on Islam is presented in forms of topic tailored tables, free literature, and also through dialogue. Activities may include speeches given by prominent Muslim figures, interactive games, movie showings, or a night of Islamic entertainment and traditional ethnic dinners. Islam Awareness Week seeks to promote a positive understanding of Islam throughout the university community and hopes to build and strengthen connections and relationships within the university community for the promotion and recognition of Muslim North Americans.


Controversies


Aafia Siddiqui's possible radicalization at MIT

Suspected
al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
member Aafia Siddiqui was active in the MSA at
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
when she attended there in the 1990s and was known for participating in charity for Islamic organizations. Journalist Deborah Scroggins, in exploring how Siddiqui might have become an Islamist extremist, wrote for '' Vogue'' that if Siddiqui "was drawn into terrorism, it may have been through the contacts and friendships she made in the early 1990s working for
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
's Muslim Students Association. Members of the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
, the world's oldest and biggest Islamist movement, established the first MSAs in the country... and the movement's ideology continued to influence the MSA long after that. At MIT, several of the MSA's most active members followed the teachings of Abdullah Azzam, a Muslim Brother who was
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
's mentor." According to Scroggins article, " zzamhad established the
Al Kifah Refugee Center The Al Kifah Refugee Center is a Charitable organization, charity that was active in the United Statesmujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...
'' fighting in Afghanistan. ... It would become the nucleus of the al-Qaeda organization."


Muslim Student Union at the University of California, Irvine

The
University of California Irvine Muslim Student Union The Muslim Student Union of the University of California, Irvine (MSU UCI, MSU, or Muslim Student Union) is a student organization at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in Irvine, United States, and an affiliated chapter of the nation ...
is an affiliated chapter of MSA National, which was suspended for the 2010–11 school year for disrupting a speech given by Israeli Ambassador
Michael Oren Michael Bornstein Oren (; born Michael Scott Bornstein; May 20, 1955) is an American-Israeli diplomat, writer, and politician. He is a former Israeli ambassador to the United States (2009–2013), former member of the Knesset for the Kul ...
at a university sponsored event. The students claimed they were exercising their right to protest and free speech. The program is being organized in conjunction with American Muslims for Palestine, a Chicago-based group that is dedicated to training college and high school students to advocate for Palestinian rights, speaking out against Israeli policy and military action that unjustly affects Palestinians.


New York Police Department monitoring of MSAs

The NYPD illegally monitored Muslim student associations in the Northeast US, citing a list of 12 people arrested or convicted on terrorism charges in the United States and abroad who had once been members of Muslim student associations. In rationalizing their monitoring activities, the NYPD noted they followed the same rules as the FBI, but several civil rights organizations argued that they engaged in unconstitutional racial and religious profiling and spying without evidence against individuals. The universities involved in the student monitoring included Yale; Columbia; the University of Pennsylvania; Syracuse; New York University; Clarkson University; the Newark and New Brunswick campuses of Rutgers; the State University of New York campuses in Buffalo, Albany, Stony Brook and Potsdam; Queens College; Baruch College; Brooklyn College and La Guardia Community College. In one monitoring incident, a conference which was to be attended by MSA students included Siraj Wahaj, a prominent but controversial New York imam who has attracted the attention of authorities for years. According to the
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. ...
, as a result of ongoing spying through undercover police and informants, the covert program introduced distrust of law enforcement and a culture of community fear and stigma. In June 2012, MSA National, along with other plaintiffs, filed suit against the City of New York, in New Jersey federal court. The suit alleged, on behalf of two New Jersey MSA chapters, that they were deprived of their Free Exercise rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and seeks to force the NYPD to expunge all data, information and conclusions regarding the Plaintiffs compiled by the NYPD. In April 2018, the NYPD and the plaintiffs finally came to a settlement agreement. Among the terms of the settlement, the NYPD promised to stop and never again engage in surveillance based on religion or ethnicity, the NYPD also agreed to compensate Muslim owned businesses, individuals and Mosques for financial losses caused by the program as well the suffering and indignation caused by it.


Racism and Arab/South-Asian bias

In the 1970s, the MSA conducted a survey which showed that most "felt like there weren’t enough efforts to include
African-American Muslims African-American Muslims, also known as Black Muslims, are an African-American religious minority. African-American Muslims account for over 20% of American Muslims. They represent one of the larger Islam in the United States, Muslim populati ...
and African-American students at MSAs across the country have offered their stories of exclusion and marginalization within the organization, saying that efforts to talk about race in the community are often met with resistance or dismissal. The Black In MSA hashtag (or ''#BlackInMSA'') generated discussion of the stereotypes and racism which African-American students were subject to in the MSA from Arab and South-Asian members. This included reluctance to engage with issues affecting African-American students on campus, reluctance to talk about racism, and hesitation or outright refusal to support African-American students and communities in the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
.


See also

*
Islamic Society of North America The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a non-profit Muslim religious organization based in the United States and serving North America. It provides a number of programs and services to North America's Muslim communities and broader societ ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Islamic organizations based in Canada Islamic organizations based in the United States Student religious organizations in the United States Student organizations in Canada Islamic education in the United States Islamic education in Canada Islamic organizations established in 1963 Organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood Student organizations established in 1963