Club Spotlight: KCI's Muslim Student Association (MSA)

Written by: Sindura Nagabooshan Vidhya

KCI’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) club offers a great opportunity for students with all backgrounds and beliefs to learn about the Islamic culture and participate in their activities. 

The club was previously run by Ms. Wilson, and now, the staff sponsors are Mr. Fogo and Mr. Miller, who help the student co-presidents to set up activities and events to engage the members of the club. One of the co-presidents, Abdur, mentioned that “KCI has a small Muslim community, so the MSA club provides a comfortable space for them.” The club presents various community-building activities for the students to participate in, such as prayers every week, major events for Ramadan, and more. The club’s co-presidents also make review forms to improve their leadership skills and create an impact during their meetings.

Numerous captivating experiences have unfolded in the Muslim Student Association, and one of the influential major events was KCI’s Iftar event. The planning for this event was a collaboration of efforts with Forest Heights students. The three co-presidents of the MSA club at KCI are all in grade 12: Fares Abaas, Abdur Rehman Asad, and Hasaan Algadi were very involved in making the event fun for all the members. Hasaan explained that “small group activities were held during the meetings where students had to create their own Iftar event, to help us gain different perspectives.” Moreover, there were two speakers during the event to share their Islamic experience. One of them was from the University of Waterloo and the other shared their experience of converting to Islam. There was also a potluck arranged for the Iftar event. In addition to that, the club made donations to build a well in honour of a student named Khalid from Forest Heights, who passed away. Through this event, the MSA fostered understanding and unity, not just within KCI but also, through the greater community.  

The co-presidents are planning another major event in the future after recognizing the huge success of the Iftar event. Hasaan and the other co-presidents “contacted the WRDSB to collaborate with the University of Waterloo in October to develop an event for the upcoming Islamic Heritage Month.” Additionally, they have connections with other schools to make this event happen, and ensure the same success and positivity that the Iftar event created.

All in all, the MSA is a very inclusive club that searches for chances to represent their community. The staff sponsors, Mr. Miller, Mr. Fogo, along with the co-presidents, empower the students to promote diversity and enhance the school environment with knowledge and compassion of the culture. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the customs and the traditions of Islam are always welcome to be part of the MSA club.

Join the Muslim Student Association Google Classroom to learn more about their current club activities using this code: re735n7