When Zaina Mansour found out she was elected president of Loyola’s Muslim Student Association, she knew it was going to be a great year.
Mansour, mass communication junior, is the newly elected president of Loyola’s Muslim Student Association for the 2011-2012 school year.
Mansour, joined MSA her freshman year and says that she would like to facilitate communication between Muslims and non-Muslims to create a positive working relationship.
“I hope to bring awareness to the true teachings of Islam and help rid people of the stereotype that some may have about Muslims,” Mansour said.
Pegah Namazizadeh, MSA member and psychology sophomore, said she and other members are all looking forward to making MSA more active and known.
Hamza Aziz, biology senior and former president of the association, said that the future of the club looks great; the new executive board is very enthusiastic about holding events next year.
“Everyone is welcome, including non-Muslim students, because one of our goals as an organization is to be part of Loyola’s community and raise awareness against Muslim stereotypes that many non-Muslims have. We also are a very fun organization,” Aziz said.
MSA held events in the past such as Fast-A-Thon, a charity fundraiser during the Islamic month of Ramadan, where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. The association encourages students of all faiths to join in the fast. For each person that fasts, a monetary donation is made to charity. A dinner is held to break the fast.
“This helps raise awareness of the issue of hunger and the Islamic way of life,” Mansour said.
MSA has also held an Islamic awareness week in order to eliminate misconceptions about Islam.
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