The answer is yes as you would expect from a blog run by an Islamic Society, but why?
1. We need to represent and cater for the Muslim community
Every year 100s of new Muslim students join the university, with different backgrounds, abilities and experiences to embark on a journey which potentially would shape the rest of their lives.
University can be an overwhelming experience at the start with so much going on and so many different people and ideas. As a result some students are ready to dive right in, and where they land can depend on many factors. Other students choose to keep to themselves or to go for the bare minimum, sometimes turning their time at university into an unpleasant experience.
This is where the Islamic Society comes in, we try to be there from day one and to reach out to as many students as possible. It is easier for us to reach to Muslim students as we share the same faith and often have similar needs (e.g. Prayer Space and Halal food).
Through a variety of regular and one off events, we engage with the students to establish a strong sense of community and provide a space for building bonds and friendship, which is very important, and in some instances these bonds of friendship transform a persons' perspective of university into a very positive and warm experience.
Communication and understanding of a community's needs can be a challenge for institutions; and this is another key role for the Islamic Society. We listen and work with both the students and university.
2. We need to represent Islam
To both Muslims and non-Muslims.
With frequent misrepresentation of Islam in various forms of media, the Islamic Society works hard to raise awareness of what actually Islam teaches in accordance to the authentic and reliable sources.
The Islamic Society also hosts classes and events where students and staff can have access to persons with Islamic knowledge and ask questions.
Islam is a beautiful religion which promotes doing good, and as such we must have a strong Islamic Society to bring together student and staff for this common good.
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