"#MyMuslimness is basically to show that even though we’re like everyone else, we have aspects to us that make us Muslim,” said Naushaba Fatima, Islamic education director of RMSA.
A variety of events happened throughout the week such as the opportunity to learn about the Qur’an, a scavenger hunt on campus, interactive games and prizes as well as a display of advancements by Muslims and their current achievements.
On the last day of
the week, they had Boonaa Mohammed, an award winning writer and performer for
an open discussion.
Mayor John Tory
sent RMSA a letter extending greetings to those who attended the screening of
the movie and he offered his best wishes for a memorable event and continued
success.
There was also the
Give "A Little” event on Tuesday members of the RMSA put together care packages
of what they called, blessing bags. The bags included Cup Noodles, water
bottles, socks and sandwiches. There were also little Hadiths.
"The people in need
were really happy that people cared about them, were having conversations with
them and actually giving back,” said Fatima. "The response was amazing.”
RMSA members also
built a structure in the Ryerson Student Centre that resembled a study room.
Although it was a regular room, it had certain elements to it that a Muslim
student would have in their room, such as calligraphy on the walls, a prayer
mat, quotes by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and pictures of Makkah.
"It’s like analogy,
to show that we’re like everyone else. We integrate within society, but we’re
just Muslims,” Fatima said.
Through these
events, RMSA hopes to remove misconceptions and wants to allow students to feel
comfortable in asking them questions and conversing with them. RMSA’ goal is
for others to know the true meaning behind Islam, which is peace.
"Islam, what it
means, is to submit. It is derived from the word Salam, which means peace,”
said Omar El-Maghraby, member of RMSA. "When the word is thrown around in the
media, it’s done in a way that makes it sound negative and full of fear. That’s
not the case.”
According to Fatima
and El-Maghraby, the Ryerson community has been very supportive throughout this
week. They explained that people have been asking them questions, shown
interest in events and collected pamphlets. Although they’ve already had
events with student groups such as Ryerson Catholic Students’ Association, they
hope to have more interfaith events in the future where speakers of different
religions come together to have conversations surrounding the positives and
similarities of the religions.
Source: Islamic News
