President Blog- March & April

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

As-salâmu 'alaykum wa rahmatuAllâhi wa barakâtuhu,

Brothers and Sisters, I start by praising Allah (SWT) and then sending peace and blessings upon His messenger Muhammad (SAW), the Companions and all the righteous believers until the Day of Judgement.

As the academic year begins to draw to a close Muslim students across the country begin to prepare for end of year exams and coursework deadlines, we ask Allah to make it easy for everyone! Ameen. Events are beginning to draw to a close within the organisation too mashaAllah - already some regional committees have begun the process of reporting back to their local Islamic Societies and elections have taken place for next year's regional committees.

In the last month the organisation has continued to be incredibly active. The media committee held a wonderful event in London, well attended by Muslim students in London. We had the benefit of a range of speakers discussing the benefits of getting involved in the media and the importance of active engagement. One of our very special guests was Muhammad Ali, CEO of Islam Channel, who offered a unique insight into the world of media.

Meanwhile Muslim students at the NUS Annual Conference 2010 continue to make their mark. Of note was the election of Usman Ali, former president of Salford Islamic Society and former president of Salford Student Union, to the position of VP Higher Education, the first Muslim student to ever hold that position. Fatima Junaid, executive member of the Student Union at Cambridge, was also elected onto the NUS block of fifteen. Positive policy was also passed at the conference on the issue relating to student safety, in particular tackling the rise in anti-Muslim hatred. The NUS also affirmed its commitment to academic freedom with a motion passed at the conference. This was reassuring considering recent attempts by certain right wing groups to ban Muslim speakers coming on campus.

Unfortunately events at NUS were a little overshadowed somewhat by the juvenile and immature behaviour of the Union of Jewish Students (UJS). For the first time in a number of years, considering the political climate, we took the proactive step of reaching out to the UJS by partaking in a joint fringe event. We hoped that this heralded a start in positive relations between our two organisations and would act as an impetus for both our organisations to tackle common issues that affect both Muslim and Jewish students. Little did we know that this event was being used as nothing more than a political stunt by the UJS and as a means of point scoring. We won't be making the same mistake again in the future! You can read more about events on our website at:

www.fosis.org.uk

You can also read an article published in the Guardian, by FOSIS, on the issue of academic freedom here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/22/student-islamic-societies-radical

Although things are beginning to draw to a close there are still things going on mashaAllah and work within the organisation will continue at a fairly frantic pace to make sure all is in order for the following academic year inshaAllah. Please remember FOSIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE will be taking place before the year is up, right now things are provisionally scheduled for the last weekend of June, so please keep that date free in your diaries and keep your eyes peeled for the confirmation of dates and venues inshaAllah !

I want to draw your attention to two key events inshaAllah before the year ends.

1 - Dr Aafia Siddique
http://www.justiceforaafia.org/index.php/articles/press-releases/514-seven-days-for-seven-years-week-long-vigil-us-embassy-london
Many of you by now I'm sure would have heard of the plight of Dr Aafia Siddique. In light of all the abuse that our sister has suffered the justiceforaafia coalition has organised a vigil outside the US embassy entitled: Seven Days for Seven Years. Please check out the link above and try and do what you can for the sister. Perhaps a group of you could go down, chill out protesting outside the US embassy and revise together! J Be creative but please do your bit.

2 - World House Party Day!
A series of massive parties taking place on one day in May. Want to know more check out the link:
http://www.justgoparty.com/

Do not miss this! Again be creative and perhaps use this as a break from revision! 

Finally - don't forget elections!!!!!! Check out this link for all you need to know:
http://youelect.org.uk/
Make sure you play your part.

May Allah (SWT) reward you all for all your hard work!

Wa- salâmu 'alaykum wa rahmatuAllâhi wa barakâtuhu

Your brother,

Faisal Hanjra
president@fosis.org.uk