Assalaamualaikum

Whilst we build a new web experience for our followers we have reinstated this blog.

Shukran for your patience.

MSA union team

WELCOME

As-salaam u Alaikum

"And it will be said to those who feared Allah, "What did your Lord send down?" They will say, "[That which is] good." For those who do good in this world is good; and the home of the Hereafter is better. And how excellent is the home of the righteous"

[Quran 16:30]

After a two month long handover process, the newly elected leadership of the MSA Union would like to extend a warm welcome to all our affiliates, partners, alumni, friends and the broader community. It is with great enthusiasm and commitment that we begin this term in office to serve and support every MSA chapter.

We would like to thank the outgoing committee for their support and commitment shown during their term in office. May Allah swt reward them for all their efforts. They continue to be an integral pillar in the process of building a better, stronger and purposeful national body.

The dynamics of each campus chapter may differ but ultimately each one has a specific role and responsibility to carry out. Chapters are the core of the unions interest and we endeavour to strengthen our relationship with the ground in whichever capacity that we can. There are many challenges that we face as a collective but by working together we can definitely find solutions in combating the issues faced at all levels.
 

We look forward to working with you in championing positive change across the country for the benefit of society at large.

Shukran,

President - Kaamil Alli

Deputy President - Aisha Hamdulay

Treasurer- Muzzamil Jable

Secretary General - Irfaan Mangera

Deputy Secretary General - Mishkah Abdool Sattar

Head of Tarbiyyah and Training- Jameelah Rayned

Head of Politics; SA and International Relations

Head of Campus Affairs and Emerging Markets - Shakeel Garda

Head of Social Media - Ayesha Moola

Head of Media and Marketing- Tashreeq Lasker

Head of Community Outreach and Social Development - Thameez Ahmad Bodhanya

Union of Muslim Students' Associations of South Africa

Twitter: @MSA_Union | Facebook: MSA Union | Instagram: msa_union | Email: union@msa.org.za | Blog: blog.msa.org.za | Website: www.msa.org.za

STATEMENT: TRUMPS DECISION TO MOVE US EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM

 

(May the peace and blessings of Allah SWT be upon you)

STATEMENT ON TRUMPS DECISION TO MOVE THE US EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM

The National Union of Muslim Students is disgusted but unsurprised at the actions of the President of the United States of America. Donald Trump is an islamophobe and racist. He has no concern for creating peace and promoting justice. He and his puppets in the Middle East continue to deny Palestinians their right to self-determination, free from oppression and occupation carried out by the Israelis.

Trumps unilateral decision proves that the US is acting in favour of the Zionist regime. Israel does not support peace and continues to further their settler colonial project. They have no intention to find a just resolution; we therefore call on our government and all progressive civil society organisations to isolate the illegal Zionist state through boycott, divestments and sanctions.

The MSA Union further calls on the ANC government to cease all diplomatic relations with Israel. The Palestinian people deserve our unequivocal support.

We endorse the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance statement below.

http://mediareviewnet.com/2017/12/palestine-solidarity-alliance-psa-statement/

We further call on all our members to participate and voice themselves on all platforms, particularly the pickets and protests being planned by solidarity organisations.

Two of which are:

1.      Protest March: 13 December 2017, 11am, Kaizergracht to Parliament. Contact; 079 494 5786

2.      Picket: 14 December 2017, 11am to 4pm, US Consulate, 1 Sandton Dr, Sandhurst, Johannesburg. Contact; 072 910 8483

The struggle continues from Azania to Palestine.

Kaamil Alli

President

National Executive Committee

Irfaan Mangera

Secretary General

National Executive Committee

Union of Muslim Students' Associations of South Africa

Twitter: @MSA_Union | Facebook: MSA Union | Instagram: msa_union | Email: union@msa.org.za | Blog: blog.msa.org.za | Website: www.msa.org.za

STATEMENT: RECENT UNREST AT UNIVERSITIES

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم

(In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

STATEMENT: RECENT UNREST AT UNIVERSITIES

Following the recent protests that have take place at universities across the country, the Union of Muslim Students' Associations (MSA Union) of South Africa would like to clarify and reiterate its stance on the decolonisation movement. 

MSA Union is in full support of the continued #FeesMustFall movement, fundraising campaigns by SRCs and the broader movement towards our institutions of learning becoming decolonised, African institutions. The fact that our institutions of higher learning are, after 22 years of democracy, still plagued by colonial and oppressive structural policies is, to us, an injustice committed against the people of South Africa. With the Almighty commanding Muslims towards justice many times in the Holy Quran, we cannot be a neutral party in these protests, and at the very least, we must speak out against it.

We note recent calls for peace in light of these protests – and while they might be noble, we recognise that true peace does not exist until justice has been achieved and these calls should not mean we stop addressing the serious societal issues in our universities. Furthermore, calls for peace that are used as a disguise to silence the voice of black students must be exposed as such and steered away from. As the MSA, we do not advocate for any violence and destruction of public property as these acts are not in the best interests of students, but we stress that the entire movement and principle on which the student protests has been based cannot be justifiably delegitimised because of them.

May we all find the strength to fight injustice wherever we come across it, and may Allah SWT grant justice to the people of South Africa.

“Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.” (Quran 16:90)

Issued by the Union of Muslim Students’ Associations of South Africa

29 February 2016

For more information, contact:

Nadeem Mahomed                                

President

071 891 8722 | union.president@msa.org.za

Aaisha Dadi Patel

Head of Politics & South African and International Affairs

071 358 5104 | union.politics@msa.org.za

STATEMENT: OCTOBER6 DAY OF ACTION

The Union of Muslim Students’ Association (MSA Union) of South Africa stands in full solidarity and support of the march taking place at the University of Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Cape Town on October 6, calling for the insourcing of workers.

We cannot call for transformation without noting and calling out the gross victimisation of our workers – our mothers and fathers on campus – who spend their time ensuring that we are able to exist in safe, clean and secure environments. 

As stated on the official Facebook page of the October6 movement, “From 1999 many of South Africa’s public universities began outsourcing the labour of workers on campuses. Thousands of workers…are no longer paid directly by universities, but receive their salaries through private companies contracted by universities to broker and oversee labour on campuses. These companies make substantial profits from acting as ‘middle-men’ in these labour arrangements, profits which are created from driving down workers’ salaries.

When workers lost their direct employment contracts with universities, they not only had their salaries cut by up to 40%, they also lost the benefits they had once received as employees of universities, including the right for their children to attend university for free. They also lost work security. Although workers come to campuses every day to offer work that ensures the smooth running of universities, they have been made into second-class citizens on campuses. High rates of casual work means that jobs are insecure. They cannot petition the university for better working conditions because the university no longer employs them directly. In order for companies to retain their profitable contracts with universities, they have harsh regulations on workers so that university managements are protected from any ‘trouble’ that comes from employing people at tiny salaries with no benefits. 

University managements make themselves unaccountable to workers because they argue that workers are no longer their responsibility, they are the responsibility of private companies. But workers spend all of their working days on campuses, traveling vast distances to provide important services to all of us that live and work at universities.

Campus workers are our co-workers and colleagues. They share our daily work space and are an indispensable part of our university communities. Outsourcing undercuts this commonality. It eases the mistreatment of workers and it fails to recognise their presence as vital to campus life.”

The exploitation of workers remains the very lifeblood of capitalism – and as a Muslim organisation, it is our duty to call out injustice. Allah SWT says in Surah Maida, verse 8: “show integrity for the sake of Allah, bearing witness with justice.”

As a body representing students, we recognise the need for such a march and fully support the broader movement towards our institutions of learning becoming decolonised, public African universities.

DETAILS:

Wits – 12-2pm, Great Hall and Jorissen Street Entrance

UJ – 12-2pm, Main Gates, Kingsway Avenue Auckland Park

UCT - 12-2pm, Lower Campus, Bremmer Building to Marikana Memorial Hall

Issued by the Union of Muslim Students’ Associations of South Africa

4 October 2015

For more information, contact:

Nadeem Mahomed                                

President

071 891 8722 | union.president@msa.org.za

Aaisha Dadi Patel

Head of Politics & South African and International Affairs

071 358 5104 | union.politics@msa.org.za

FNB Business Women's Breakfast - A Student's Account

By Zaynura Jehan Dolley 

With the pleasure of Almighty Allah and the generosity of MSA Union, I was fortunate enough to attend the FNB Business Women's Breakfast held in KwaZulu-Natal on the 5^th of August, at one of Durban's prestigious ICC Halls. The event was held not only in celebration of Women’s Month and the phenomenal strides that women have made in South Africa, but also to highlight the unique journeys, lessons learnt and in advice from the key speakers that addressed attendees that day. 

Please note, the following account could be offensive to boring and otherwise humourless individuals. With only the greatest amount of respect, if you so find yourself of such disposition and choose to read further – please note that you do so at your own irritation … hehe 

Key speakers at the event included author and former President Nelson Mandela’s assistant Zelda la Grange and Freshlyground's lead singer Zolani Mahola. Not to mention the award-winning ballerina, businesswoman and current Top Billing presenter Lorna Maseko and finally IT innovator and former Google South Africa Boss, Stafford Masie …

On arrival at the event, we were met with a red carpet welcome and big warm smiles by polished, uniform-clad hostesses, ready to escort you to your seat within the hall that held over 700 woman from all walks of life. Seated at round tables each laid with a buffet of fruit, smoothies and fruit juices, as well as a basket of breads, an assortment of cheese as well as berry and muesli trifle, the set up itself was quite aristocratic. Everything was most delicious let me assure you … except for perhaps the blue cheese, which I could not touch! (I eventually asked if they could have it removed from the table. To be very honest – I thought someone had taken off their shoes and such smell had wafted up to my nose … but alas – it was naught but the joyous presence of blue cheese)

Our first address was by the ever-charming Stafford Masie who, as an IT specialist, expressed his terror at addressing a hall full of females – saying as an IT nerd, talking to one female is practically impossible so the 700-to-one ratio would be pushing it a little. The MC of the event didn’t make it any better of course with her advising the crowd to acknowledge “hotness” when you see it (referring to poor Stafford. Not that I looked at all of course – the blue cheese and I had developed quite a relationship by then). Stafford spoke about the great love he has for his grandmother and her being his great inspiration. He found such strength and happiness through her rearing and being a little coloured South African boy eventually finding his way to rubbing shoulders with the greatest names in IT programming – it says a lot for the rearing, foundational, inspirational values of a female in the home environment doesn’t it? Stafford strongly believes that a woman’s role does not end at home though. He is a strong advocate and supporter of having females on the exec boards of businesses and companies, in fact citing the reason behind Kodak’s insolvency being the lack of female influence. He advocates female representation not just to create a balance of the inequalities of the past, but because females possess a unique understanding of people and what they need, feel and want. That, coupled with their natural intuition, is a round table recipe for success!!

Our next speaker was the ever beautiful Lorna Maseko - Glamorous, Diva, Comedian and from ever humble backgrounds. Growing up and coming from the Alexandra Township, having given the opportunity to practice ballet at age 8 – she found herself becoming the first black ballet dancer travelling to and performing in Switzerland, dabbling in business and eventually finding herself become a presenter on Top Billing. She speaks on the essence of hard work and says that it’s the most rewarding and the key to success, quoting that “Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard”. Saying further that her life is about putting the work in, reaping the rewards  and creating your own success story; it doesn’t matter where you’re coming from or what people say you can and should not even entertain dreaming of doing because of your circumstance – go ahead and make it happen anyway

We then had Zelda le Grange share her experiences with former President Nelson Mandela. Eliciting a great response from the crowd, she starts off by mentioning the women of 1956 marching to the Union Buildings in protest of the “pass laws” , moving to the woman that she was - admitting that she and her family happily lived in Apartheid and they never asked questions. In 1994 she applied for a job as a typist in government only because it was close to home. When she first met Madiba she says she was absolutely dumb founded by his friendly and open demeanour toward her. He in fact extended his hand to shake hers and her immediate thought was … “surely he must know I voted no in the last elections” and secondly was that in his first approaching her – he spoke to her in Afrikaans. The language of the people who oppressed him and tortured and killed many of his people … and yet the humility of the man to speak to her in that very same language - was mind-boggling. Madiba always said that “when you speak to a man you speak to his head, but if you speak to a man in his language – then you speak to his heart”. This she says is true as it started a process of her digging into the history and reasoning of Apartheid and led to the start of her ultimate loyalty and respect for the man known as Nelson Mandela. Dedication, loyalty and commitment are what she says is the recipe for achieving the world and reaching the distance. Discipline, respect and integrity are what Nelson Mandela taught her. To the extent that Madiba even disliked those people who came late and found it nothing short of disrespectful. With respect, she says the two most important things that he had told her was  “never allow the enemy to determine the grounds of battle” and “the way you approach a person is the way the person will treat you.” He always respected each and every person absolutely and that is what she says is the Madiba magic. She further says that if we make it fashionable for the above values to be practised with our children - as women and parents – society and the world can be a much better place.

And finally was the lead singer of super successful and locally nourished Freshlyground! She started her address with a powerful rendition of a lullaby that represented her life and is one of the most popular songs that Freshlyground produced. She too came from a township, but in the Eastern Cape. She comes from a single parent family where it was her father who had looked after and her siblings and spoke about her love for her family and the importance of maintaining family ties as, not only in business but also in personal life, the importance of having a network of people to count on and communicate with can make a world of difference. She also told a tale of not letting the critique of other people dictate the distance you travel. When she and her band had first performed, during their early days, in front of a panel of judges, the judges had said that the band was a “talentless bunch of hippies destined for oblivion” and despite which…  heyy perhaps some of us don’t know who in the world Zolani or Freshlyground are – they currently climb the stairs of music industry success and have performed with international artists and on international stages. Hence the sentiment of not giving up because of bad critiques or because of a speed bump or two.

And at the end of it all, I got a chance to meet and greet a few busy women before they had to rush off back to the office and the wealthy housewives to pick up their kids and even recognised a lecturer or two from my University and exchanged knowing smiles. All in all it was a beautiful and inspiring experience and one thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated. Jazaka’Allah Khair for the opportunity and to all of you for reading.   

About the author

A "die-hard winged eyeliner fan and wearer", Zaynura is studying her third year in Law at UKZN Howard College. She is also the current deputy chairperson of the MSA chapter there and dedicates time to motivational speaking.

Civic Engagement - An Islamic Duty

By Nadeem Mahomed

Today (12 August) marks International Youth Day; a day commemorated by the United Nations (UN) since 2000. This year the theme adopted for the Day is ‘Youth Civic Engagement’.

UN’s Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, comments “In this landmark year, as leaders prepare to adopt a bold new vision for sustainable development, the engagement of youth is more valuable than ever. At this critical moment in history, I call on young people to demand and foster the dramatic progress so urgently needed in our world.” 

The engagement of youth in societal matters is essential in achieving sustainable human development, yet platforms for them to engage with these issues in the spheres of society (economically, politically, socially) are often not easily accessible. Being the representative body of Muslim student in the country, the Union of Muslim Students’ Associations (MSA Union) of South Africa has endeavoured over many years to provide such a platform to our students.

Why do we need a socially conscious youth?

We know that Allah SWT is Al-Adl, The Just and Most Equitable. If Allah is just and we see injustice being committed on the Earth, then it is because we, the Creation, are perpetuating this injustice.

There are verses upon verses in the Holy Quran making justice unavoidable for us. Verse 135 of Surah Nisa reinforces this: “O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, be he rich or poor, Allah is a Better Protector to both (than you). So follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you may avoid justice, and if you distort your witness or refuse to give it, verily, Allah is Ever Well-Acquainted with what you do.”

Allah makes it clear that if we have tauheed, we must pursue justice no matter the circumstances.

As members of broader South African society, we have a responsibility to contribute to it. We do not live in a cocoon, and living in a society riddled with a range of socio-economic issues - especially post-Apartheid - it is imperative that we engage and look at the ways in which as Muslims we can contribute. For example, the National Development Plan has been adopted by the ruling party and can therefore be seen as the plan for the future of this country. Do we know what that plan says? Have we scrutinised it and been involved in pointing out its flaws – and working to fix those flaws? Have we sat down as a Muslim community and given thought as to how we can improve education, healthcare and security, how we can combat corruption and unemployment and address transformation?

As a Muslim organisation, we have too often heard that politics has no place in our work within the Deen and this was an unfortunate rhetoric that was put forward by many during the Apartheid era. Over the years, the practicing of our religion has, in many regards, been reduced to a mere set of rituals.

But [this is a blog, so I will use my literary licence to start this sentence with “but”] I would like to ask this: our Islamic calendar – when did it begin? It does not begin with the birth of the final prophet Muhammad SAW, as the Christian calendar does with the birth of Hazrat Isa AS, nor did it begin with the first revelation. The Islamic calendar began when the Muslim community of Makkah made hijrah to Madinah and assumed political power of the city. Islam, has since day 1, been intertwined with politics (if looking at politics as the activities associated with the governance of people).  

It is understandable that everyone has their interests, and politics may not be one of them, but social issues must be. We must make an effort to know what is happening around us. Listen to the news, not just the weather or sport updates. Occasionally flick through a newspaper. Follow some news accounts on Twitter, along with Mufti Menk’s. Discuss the news events of the day with your family at dinner. Formulate views and opinions on what we see unfolding in parliamentary proceedings on a daily basis; about the investigations into Nkandla; about whether the widows of the miners killed in Marikana will get justice. Formulate them and express them.

Further afield, we must remain aware of international issues. We know all too well about the atrocities committed against the citizens of Palestine, but Palestinians are not the only persecuted people. Exhibit A - the Rohingyan people. They have been discriminated against since the 1980s, but their plight has gone unnoticed for the most part. As a society, we are comfortable in waiting for someone to tell us whose struggle is important and whose struggle we must care about – we do not take that initiative ourselves.

And why Muslim youth specifically?

As Muslims, we believe wholeheartedly that Islam is the best way of life, and that the Holy Quran has the answers to all our problems. So why then are we fine to entrust the future of our communities and families in the hands of everyone else? We need to be at the forefront of charting out the future of our country so we can rest assured that our future generations will grow up in a country whose values are closely aligned with that of Islam’s and continue to enjoy the religious freedoms we do today.

Over decades, we have inherited societal ills from the generations before us. Ultimately, it is the youth that will have to deal with those issues. We need to take this platform, with both hands and a loud voice, to engage with these issues and come up with the solutions. The mere fact that the problems our societies face have not been solved indicates that those solutions must lie within the minds of the generations to come. We need an environment that cultivates this thinking to see this to fruition. As the youth, we cannot remain ignorant. We need to champion causes, and have an active voice and presence in our communities.

You do not need to be going to marches or protests or even re-tweeting 'Free Palestine', or whatever the struggle-trend of the moment may be, to prove that you are aware of injustices that may be going on. In fact, you do not need to prove anything to any human being. Our duty is with Allah to fulfil His commandments during our time on Earth.

It is vital that, as an individual, you are able to empower yourself with the knowledge of the status quo - from both a local and a global perspective - to remain aware of injustice, to take up the fight of the oppressed and carry this Ummah forward, God-willing.

About the author

Nadeem is the current President of MSA Union and represents MSA Union within national civil society circles. Doing his Honours in Accounting Science at Wits University, he also plays an active role in student development and politics on campus.