VP Student Affairs Blog - December 2008/January 2009

Assalamualaykum waRahmatullah

The past month will arguably be the most memorable of my term as Vice-President Student Affairs. It took three weeks of the merciless massacre of a population, innocents including women and children burned, bombed and gunned to death at the hands of an Israeli Defence Force, for the world to wake up and take notice. And the massacre may have paused in the streets of Gaza, yet the suffering continues; humanitarian aid and food continues to be prevented from reaching the Gazan population due to the Israeli government’s blockade, whilst the figures of those killed or displaced for yet more illegally occupied Israeli land continue to rise.

May God bless all those that have spoken out and acted – politicians, academics, journalists, students, all, and shame on those that attempt to silence debate and blame the oppressed. The campaigning over this last month in all its forms has been immense and long should it continue. The evil that exists within Zionism is now all too clear to see, and the world is coming around now to see that their immorality is not excusable and it is soon coming to an end.

As we remember justice, we remember that justice is non-exclusive, and universal, “even be it against yourselves or your parents or relatives” as the Qur’an reminds us. So let’s bring it home.

With Jewish students suffering on campus we should be the first to take a firm stand against any form of anti-Semitism, a responsibility for every Muslim student. And the same goes for standing against those types of Zionists that threaten and intimidate peaceful activists. This creates a worrying intolerant climate which is a hurdle to real change – and we also should remember this Middle-East conflict is political, not religious. Don’t let anybody try and mix the two.

Between my last blog and now, we celebrate the success of NUS Reform which we supported, and we look avidly to the future of a more powerful and relevant NUS. I met with Foreign Secretary David Miliband and spoke about student activism, and also participated in some research on Muslim youth. I can report that all the rest of our work from the last blog is continuing strongly, from MSS2 to Prayer Rooms to ISoc Development, and as ever studentaffairs@fosis.org.uk if we can help with anything, from advice regarding campus extremism to the appointment of Muslim chaplains.

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is reported to have said, "Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or is oppressed". A man enquired: "O Messenger of Allah! I help him when he is oppressed, but how can I help him when he is an oppressor?'' He (pbuh) said, "You can keep him from committing oppression. That will be your help to him".

Keep smiling, keep striving.

Wa salaam alaykum

Nabil
VP Student Affairs

The Student Affairs Committee leads and serves political work for Muslim students in a variety of arenas; this includes encouraging Muslim students to politically participate on campus, our representation with external organisations and the government, research projects and domestic campaigns.