VP Student Affairs- March & April

Assalamualaykum warahmatullah

I pray you're all doing alright!

NUS Conference is really the blogging point of the last couple of months. For that, please visit the NUS Brief Page for a summary of what happened!

Further to this, now but a few days from the big vote on May 6th, we have been busy encouraging people to get out and vote - together with the get out and vote campaign. A voter registration drive took place, and now we're onto final push.

Two key places to promote ahead of the election sisters and brothers:
http://www.getoutandvote.info/ and http://youelect.org.uk/

Facebook them, call your friends and your families, speak to your neighbours..all in all, do not underestimate the importance of your vote this Thursday.

I also provided a workshop at the North ISoc101 seminar that took place in Leeds, and spoke with Seamus Milne and others at an event at QMUL. I didn't include in my last blog, I spoke at the launch of the European Muslim Research Centre earlier this year, and we proudly support the crucial work of Dr. Robert Lambert and Dr. Jonathan Githens-Mazer - provided academic authority and robust research to a field that needs it - their first report is "Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: a London Case Study".

Business as usual on freedom of expression, whilst the issue of Data Protection at UCL returned to the fore, and work around Schedule 7 continues. For Data Protection or Civil Liberties queries, do contact Zín at civil.liberties@fosis.org.uk

Be sure to check out too our Guardian CiF piece here http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/22/student-islamic-societies-radical and an article about freedom of expression here http://fosis.org.uk/media/articles/702-the-truth-about-campuses .

We work, and we constantly reflect. What is the purpose of all this work? Where should our heart lie? As always, the answers are found by constantly returning to the Qur'an. Allah ‘azza wa jall reminds us, for example in Surah ‘Asr, "By time! Surely the human being is at loss. Except for those who have faith and do righteous deeds and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to patience." Or in Surah ar-Ra'd, "Indeed God does not change the condition of a people until they change their own souls". Or in Surah at-Tawbah, "The believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another: They enjoin what is just, forbid what is evil, observe regular prayers, practice regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them, will Allah pour His Mercy: For Allah is Exalted in power, Wise".

Whilst this are verses I share with you, ultimately I pray that we all can constantly return to the Qur'an, and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him); there we find comprehensive meaning and purpose, and this constant return must be the backbone of all our work. Our ultimate aims are with Allah - FOSIS, your Islamic Society, your Student Union, these are but paths for reaching those aims.

As we draw close to the end of the year the focus now shifts on committee building, recruitment, handover plans etc. so please do get in contact if you would like to be involved. Now is the ideal time to show interest and by all means feel free to get in contact vp.studentaffairs@fosis.org.uk

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

Wa salaam alaykum warahmatullah

Your brother,

Nabil Ahmed
Vp.studentaffairs@fosis.org.uk