Photos Provided By: Christine Jauregui

With Executive Order 13769, also known as the Muslim Ban, still in effect, it feels like Muslim immigrants voices are not being heard in this country.

At our school, the Muslim Student Association is a club that supports and brings the Muslim community together, giving them a chance to express themselves and their culture.

“Students in the MSA come from a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds and what binds them all together is their desire to educate non-Muslims about their traditions and positive influence in the world,” said club sponsor Christine Jauregui.

This passion to educate others on Islam and spread positivity is the driving force behind MSA.

“MSA is a fun safe and educational environment to learn about Islam and the many Muslim cultures,” said senior Marwa Abassi. 

“All these qualities make MSA a truly unique club.”

MSA is an opportunity for Muslim students at Grandview to connect with others in their community.

“It brings the Muslim community at our school together so that we always have a each other for support.” 

“It’s a way for others, not just Muslims, to educate themselves on our religion,” Sulaiman added. 

“It’s also a way you can make friends from other countries and learn about different cultures.”

Abassi agreed.

“Grandview needs an MSA because it’s important for students to learn about Islam and cultures surrounding,” said Abassi. 

“MSA is where I found people that I could relate to. It was refreshing to make friends who I had so much in common with and I always looked forward to the meetings.” 

Unlike other cultural clubs at this school, MSA is a smaller group. This means that they are very close.

“MSA differs from other clubs at grandview because I feel like we are a smaller group combined with so many different cultures and people from different countries,” said Sulaiman. 

“It’s like a small family I never knew I wanted and it’s surrounded by such positive people, always making me feel welcomed.” 

Cultural clubs like MSA are an integral part of our schools community as they create a melting pot of backgrounds.

“The MSA was intricately involved in the past few International Dinners at GHS, especially in 2018 and 2019,” said Jauregui. 

“Our 2020 International Dinner, set for last April was cancelled due to COVID. It is the hope of the students in MSA to be able to help host another International Dinner in the future.”

Although our schools are not able to return to normal during these hard times, MSA continues to be a shining light of positivity for Grandview.

“As we move forward during challenging times, the MSA hopes to be able to meet once again and continue its mission of bringing a positive message to the GHS community,” said Jauregui.