Conference unites Muslim Student Associations across West Coast

Sabreena Yaseen watched as Imam Suhaib Webb, a religious leader from her hometown, spoke to a small group of students about changing perceptions of American Muslims.

At the Muslim Student Association West Conference this weekend, Yaseen said she related most to the message shared by Webb, who emphasized the importance of individuals openly embracing their faith.

“He gets to know everyone on a personal level and relates more to the younger generation (of Muslims),” said Yaseen, a third-year biology student at California State University San Marcos.

The 17th annual and largest-ever MSA West Conference was held at UCLA from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. More than 1,100 Muslim students attended from universities in California, Utah, Oregon and other states along the West Coast, said fifth-year international development studies student Sarah Rahimi, an external vice president for the Muslim Student Association.

The conference aimed to help Muslim students feel a greater sense of solidarity between their various chapters and to give them a chance to meet new people and listen to prominent speakers.

The main sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday featured lectures and workshops aimed at helping students embrace the history of their religion and to find a place of solace and support within the Muslim community, Rahimi said.

There were also “Womanhood in Islam” and “Manhood in Islam” sessions geared toward helping each gender overcome the difficulties set before them by stereotypes that result from misinterpretations of religious teachings, Rahimi said. The conference also featured a talent show, bazaar at Kerckhoff Patio, a video competition, a career fair with ASL interpreters, an exhibition at Kerckhoff Art Gallery and a promotion for the Ban the Box campaign, which supports the employment rights of ex-offenders, she said.

On the Grand Ballroom stage in front of a large crowd of students, Imam Tariq Aquil shared his personal experiences about growing up as a black Muslim teen in the ’60s, which he said was difficult to explain to his friends amid the misconceptions he said were common in that era.

Aquil recounted a time when a teacher told the class false information about why the teacher thought Muslims were a threat to other Americans, but he was too nervous to stand alone and correct the facts in front of everyone. Instead, he revealed his religious identity to a friend afterward. He also talked about the history and progression of Islam and compared it to the civil rights movement.

“I didn’t see it in a movie. I didn’t read it in a book. I lived it,” Aquil said.

The second speaker of the day, Imam Jihad Saafir, leader of Islah LA, said he thinks students should remember the sacrifices of historical figures who fought for equal civil rights for different minority groups in the United States as well as the importance of working hard to honor their efforts.

“This is our history and it’s important that we learn the narrative of (Islam) in America,” Saafir said.

He urged the audience to put forth their best effort academically to make their own positive contributions to the Islamic community.

“We need to gather and knock down the doors of these major universities,” Saafir said. “We should be known for our intellect.”

Sheava Danesh, a University of California Irvine first-year computer science student at the conference, said she joined her school’s chapter of the Muslim Student Association to find friends who would have the same beliefs.

“I felt like it would be a great place to find fellow Muslims and get involved in religious activities, strengthen my faith and meet new people,” Danesh said.

Danesh said Terry Holdbrooks Jr. was the conference speaker she found most engaging.

Holdbrooks joined the U.S. military as a self-proclaimed atheist but became a Muslim during his service as a guard at Guantanamo Bay. His speech focused on the violence toward Muslims at the prison he worked at as well as in America, especially in the years following the 9/11 attacks.

“His story was really touching and it was so heartbreaking to hear what they did to Muslim captives at Guantanamo that it inspired me to try to help them,” Danesh said.

Yaseen said she enjoyed meeting new people and hearing from the lecturers at the conference.

“I liked getting to know Muslims from all around the West Coast and the speakers were really well-known in the Muslim community,” Yaseen said. “It was exciting to hear them speak because it’s usually hard getting into those types of events.”