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Dates To Remember
SISTERHOOD
Wednesdays 6 pm
Capital City Room

BROTHERHOOD
Thursdays 6:30 pm
Hale Hall

PROJECT DOWNTOWN
Sundays 12 pm
Aviation Room

WEEKLY GBMS
Fridays 6 pm
Davis Interfaith Room

JUMMAH
Fridays 12:30 pm
Davis Interfaith Room
Issue II: The Epic Struggle
Have you ever sat on the edge of a dock, cold water rushing in
between your toes while the sunset gleams amid the practically
bare fall trees? Doubting all the decisions you have made in your
past, and what brutal verdicts will come of them. Well, my fellow
brothers and sisters, you are not alone. The struggle is here and
the struggle is real. Whether it is with your family, friends, self-
identity, or relationship with Allah (swt), you are not alone. You
are never alone.
We all inevitably go through trials. Testing our knowledge, our
character, and our faith. Yet those who rise do not ease through
these trials, they fall. They stumble, and trip, and scrape their
knees, and break their bones. They experience failure, but are
not failures, because they get back up and try again. They are
not discouraged by a little mishap because they know even when
they feel helpless, deserted, and completely abandoned they are
still not alone. For they know that Allah (swt) is always there, in
the best of times, and in the worst.
Stay strong yall; finals are just around the corner.
Abshaar Narvel
Director of Iqra
Vol ume IV
2

The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle







Slnce she was a llLLle glrl, Shlrln lachar has
always wanLed Lo experlence Lhe way of llvlng ln
Lhe unlLed SLaLes. Alhamdullllah, she goL Lhe nexL
besL Lhlng, Lo come here as a forelgn exchange
sLudenL ln a sLudy abroad program. MosL people
who have meL Shlrln know she ls from Cermany,
and everyone probably knows she ls a Musllm.
WhaL a loL of people don'L know ls LhaL she ls LhaL
she converLed Lo lslam.
Shlrln ls Lhe eldesL of 3 slbllngs, wlLh an
lranlan faLher and Cerman moLher. 1here was a
loL of Lenslon ln her famlly due Lo Lhe culLure
dlfference, and when she was 10 years old her
parenLs separaLed. She sLarLed Lo search for
someLhlng Lo belleve ln, Lo glve her hope and hold
on Lo. AfLer a gradual process of researchlng and
learnlng abouL lslam, lL became a consLanL ln her
llfe.
now, of course, Shlrln ls a devouL Musllm
on her way Lo geLLlng a degree ln lndusLrlal
ueslgn, lnshAllah. AfLer comlng Lo Lhe u.S. and
meeLlng Lhe MSA, Lhey have glven her a
communlLy Lo Lhrlve ln as she focuses on her deen
whlle also maklng a few llfe long frlends.

Pere ls a llLLle more abouL Shlrln:

How were you introduced to
Islam?
ln Cermany, we have upper and lower
class. 1he ma[orlLy of Lhe lower class, ln whlch l
was ln, was Musllm. 1herefore, mosL of my good
frlends were Lhe Musllm chlldren. 1haL's why
when l flrsL wenL Lo hlgh school l ldenLlfled myself
wlLh Lhe Musllms, even Lhough LhaL was noL even
my rellglon aL Lhe Llme."

How did your family
and friends react to
your change of
faith?
!lL was a process
becomlng a Musllm, buL when
l sLarLed wearlng Lhe
headscarf LhaL ls when l ouLed
myself and a loL of good
frlends Lurned Lhelr backs on me. Many people
backblL and Lhls was a hard Llme. 8ecause l dldn'L
have famlly supporL, lL was harder Lo sLand up for
my declslon. My parenLs were noL happy abouL my
declslon, buL Lhey accepLed lL."

What was the hardest part about
transitioning to Islam?
ln a counLry llke Cermany everyone [udges
you by your declslons, and socleLy LreaLs you
dlfferenLly because of your rellglon. ?ou have
many resLrlcLlons as a Musllm woman. l was
sLudylng law, buL l dld noL conLlnue wlLh Lhe
sLudles because l knew l dldn'L have a fuLure wlLh
Lhe headscarf. 1hls ls because women lawyers are
noL allowed Lo wear a headscarf."

Why did you decide to come to the
U.S. ?
l came here Lo sLudy lndusLrlal ueslgn ln a
sLudy abroad program. l wanLed Lo come Lo Lhe
unlLed SLaLes for a long Llme and l LhoughL Lhls ls a
good opporLunlLy Lo see whaL lLs llke. As soon as l
came here l felL LhaL Lhe enLlre Musllm
communlLy, especlally MSA, suddenly welcomed
me."



S
2
MSA Fast-A-ThoN Reflections
The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle
Humanity still exists! It nice to see people still care about
others who are suffering. And sometimes we get caught up in
our own little bubble that we forget about our neighbors and
others who are in desperate need of help, food and other
necessities of life. Its really awesome to see people have the
heart and fitrah (natural predisposition) to do good in this
world! Alhamdulillah. - Rajeev Sachdeva
Why has Allah (swt) given
us more than we need? So we
can give! Give with your
health, give with your time,
and give with your money.
Allah (swt) created you to
succeed. He didnt create you
to be mediocre because then
that would be a mistake on
Allahs (swt) part.
Excellence is already in you
because youre Muslim, but
you must want it! You must
strive for it! You must strive
for excellence. So give and
help others with the
blessings that Allah
(swt) bestowed
upon you!
- Asil Najjar

This years Fast-A-
Thon allowed me to
put my life in
perspective. We go
around
complaining about
school and how we
just want to do
nothing all day, but
we forget about
how blessed we are
to have this
opportunity, let alone basic
sustenance. Learning about
Mali, I realized that I should
do whatever I can with my
relatively amazing life to
bring people who are
suffering all around the
world a little close to a
productive and enjoyable
life. -Hussein Alkhatib
Im so grateful t have had the opportunity to participate in
this years Fast-A-Thon. Although there were countless
powerful messages to be take away from this incredible event,
a message that impacted me the most was a question posed by
Hanif Williams: Have you wondered why Allah (swt) has
blessed us with more than
we need? Being a 20 year
old living in a big city, Im
constantly consumed by
the materialistic nature of
the society in which I
dwell, and although it
would be near impossible
for me to completely
detach myself from my
very comfortable
standard of living, I feel
its important that I be
conscious of the amount of
excess means I have an
what purpose it serves.
Its my duty not only as a
Muslim but as a human
being to use this excess to
help those in need around
me, from members of our own Columbus community all the
way to our brothers and sisters suffering in Mali who do not
know where their next meals will be coming from. In the
words of Neil DeGrasse Tyson, For me, I am driven by two
main philosophies: know more about the world than I knew
yesterday and lessen the suffering of other. Youd be
surprised how far that gets you. I applaud MSA, SSA,
UNICEF and Hanif Williams for all their efforts in providing
me with such an incredible experience.
-Samiah Shakir

All the work put into Fast-A-Thon
definitely pays off in the end,
alhamdullilah. Its a strong
reminder that our sisters and
bothers are suffering everywhere
and they deserve our attention,
regardless of location. Thanks to
everyone who came out and
donated!
Shamiyan Hawramani
Female Outreach Chair
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The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle
S












1he Syrlun revolutlon ls stlll golng on, ln cuse
you were wonderlng. So ls the wldesreud
hunger ln Mull. Shocklngly, the Rohlngyu of
8urmu huven't hud thelr roblems resolved
slnce we lust heurd of them. And ln the ust
coule of duys there huve been qulte u few
sulclde bomblngs uround world: the ones l
heurd ubout were two: one ln Lebunon und
one ln lruq. ln the former, zz were
lmmedlutely reorted us kllled, und c or
more were suld to be lnjured (88C, November
, zc). lt cun sufely be ussumed thut some
of those lnjured succumbed to thelr wounds
und dled. ln the lutter uttuckuctuully, when
lt comes to lruq, there's no need for me to go
buck und seurch for the one urtlculur
lncldent on whlch l reud. Lvery duy, lt seems,
brlngs out unother deudly uct of terror, und
every uct of terror brlngs out the deud ln
dozens: just yesterduy 8 eole were kllled
ln the streets of Suudlyuh, u town north of
8ughdud, thls brlngs the count of deud ln zc
to roughly ,8cc, robubly more (AlP,
November z, zc).
1hese two ureus ure just the ones to whlch l
huened to uy uttentlon us l browsed the
news. 'ust now, though, us lf to remlnd me
thut the world ls blgger thun to be
clrcumscrlbed by two bloody trugedles, my
hone vlbrutedulertlng me to un emull from
the vur on vunt. 1hey wunt donutlons "thls
Chrlstmus' to further thelr efforts ln stolng
"ethnlc cleunslng ln Pulestlne.' lt













seems the slrlt must be tested, too.
Peolereul, bloodundbone, hoesfeurs
unduslrutlons eole, just llke you or me
lose not just llves but ulso the greuter llfe thelr
eole hud, once ln the ust. Eumun belngs
the world over ure loslng thelr lund, thelr
nurrutlve, thelr mythology, thelr sult: ln short,
the dlgnlty thut every humun would llke for
themselves.
vhut cun be done ubout the luck of breud ln
Syrlu? vhut cun be done for the Rohlngyu?
Eow cun lruq's sllde buck lnto dully kllllngs
und chuos be reversed? Eow cun the
resurgence of tyrunny ln Lgyt be stoed?
Cun u college student's tylcul reertolre
muybe deul wlth thls? Let's see: whut ure the
tools of the college student !"#$%$&'()? Lust
mlnute work, much comlulnlng, meetlng u
wlth eole for lunch or breukfust or
whutever ( becuuse we ull know the most
efflclent wuy to send tlme und money ls burn
lt ln excurslons fur too long und frequent, to
luces servlng terrlble food), tylng out u
bullshlt uer the nlght before the due dute,
lnltlutlng und eretuutlng slmllstlc, useless,
endless, clrculur dlscusslons, on the most
comlex of tolcs, wlthout ever comlng to
uny selfresectlng und wellfounded
concluslon (ulthough of course ut the end of
the duy your uveruge college student wlll
huve solved ull the roblems thut the exerts
ln hls fleld hud theretofore fulled mlserubly ut
The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle
To bake fresh bread: a rant

*+,-./.01 #34 5"66"7$'8 $) ('4%$#4%9 -4&% $# &# :"(; "7' <4;$69=

>+34' #34 ?;4&% $) 5;4)3@ $#A) ?4##4; #3&' 734' $#A) !"6% &'% )#&64@> )&$% ,?%(6B(44'
/C6& &) 34 7&) 3&'%4% 3$) 6"&59 >D34)4 #"%&: &;4 8""%9>

LA 1lmes, November , zc

6
solvlng), etc., etc. Cne reully could go on und
on: the E$)!$<(6() &B4;$!&'() 84'4;$) muy be u
fuclle creuture, but lt ls never ut u loss for
methods of selfubsortlon und sloth.
And yet those sufferlng do notshocklngly
need more uvurlce und gluttony. 1hey do not
need us to consume untll we drlve our senses
to u stuor und then usk wlth wonder why
they sturve. 8elleve lt or not, lt ls not
beneflclul for unyonemuch less ourselves
thut we sture lnto the screens of ull the nlfty
llttle gudgets thut we huve, untll we ure dlm
slghted und bllnkered, und then look u wlth
bllnd bewllderment ut u world gone mud
wlthout our leuve. And lt sure us hell ls not
roductlve to, every once ln u whlle, ubllsh
(thut ls whut you do, for better or for worse,
when you wrlte und hlt thut 'ost' button)
lucebook stutuses on "the sltuutlon ln [flll ln
the blunk|,' stutuses thut ure, to boot,
exemlurs of offenslve shullowness und
hollow retenslon, und ufter whlch we then
return to the norm of uslng our soclul medlu
lutforms us u reullty show centered on us.
1he eole of Somullu do not wunt our
condescendlng und lnfrequent uttentlon. 1he
eole of Mull wlll not feed thelr chlldren on
our stuld symuthy. vurm cuddly
condolences to the lruqls, sundwlched ln
between u vlne cll und u "funny' vldeo from
You1ube, wlll not vunlsh or brlng buck the
deud, or flll ln concrete blusted out by sulclde
bombers. ve wlll not glve the Syrluns wurm
breud und euce by constuntly forgettlng und
releurnlng of thelr mlsery.












Reul trlbulutlons ure not "overcome' ln one
duy of moderutely lnconvenlenclng work. Reul
trlbulutlons cunnot be done sllshod und ut
the lust mlnute, one cunnot "just bullshlt' u
true test. ln u true trlbulutlon, the result wlll
be cleurcut und lt wlll be us true und on olnt
und lmlucuble us the fuct thut ull of us wlll
one duy dle. And whlle we cunnot muke rlght
ull thut's wrong ln the world, we cun do thut
whlch we flnd ln our cuuclty. ve cun set out
to leurn, steudy, unflugglng und unfulterlng,
und whlle we leurn we cun uct, we cun hel
our nelghbors who ure ln need (not just those
nelghbors who llve ln nlce llttle dwelllngs llke
us, und dress llke us, but ulso meuns those on
the streets who huve nelther roof nor food).
Cur trlul here ut Chlo Stute ls rlvllege,
comlucency und comfort, not bud ut ull,
conslderlng the world toduy. vlll we rlse
ubove thls chullenge? Cr wlll we rove to be
just emty words und vunlty? vlll we stund u
und enguge ln the servlce of our fellow humun
belngs, or wlll we just slt down, eut our flll und
dle u trunqull deuth dlsgruceful?

-Abdulrahman Al-Ruwaishan,
El Maestro Supremo Del Universe.








7
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The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle
Awkward Things Muslims Do
Accidentally saying Muslim lingo to a non-Muslim
When Muslims are together, we tend to throw around lingo that can seem intimidating. Insider
Muslim lingo like inshAllah (if Allah wills) and Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah). When non-Muslims
come to this site, they read all sorts of Muslim-ish stuff and most of them just leave confused which
amuses me as I enjoy confusing people.
However when it happens in real life, it actually seems less pleasurable and more awkward.
Observe:


On the flip side, if they dont call the
police then theyll start researching all
the funky Muslim lingo and embrace
Islam that way. Thats some slick
dawah.

Weird excuses when refusing to shake hands
with the opposite gender
Some of us wanna be all slick and not shake the hands of the opposite gender. Thats fine.
Whats not slick is giving off terrible excuses that would make anyone extremely confused.
Some sample excuses below:
Ew. No. Cooties.
Im worried I might crush your extremely beautiful yet incredibly puny hands.
This hand is filled with a contagious disease that could give you diarrhea and/or rabies for
a week its really up to you if you want to shake it.
Wear boxing gloves. Slice off your hands. Sneeze into your hand before every meeting
do SOMETHING. Just do us all a favor and dont make up dumb excuses if you arent a
shaker.

8







The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle
Captain Buzzkill
Every crowd has a Captain Buzzkill. The kings and queens of destroying all conversations,
these people really go out of their way to make sure you feel bad because youre a lowly
Muslim who has the time to talk about something not related to religion at least once a day.
There are three distinct types:
"#$ %&'()(*+' ,-../(''0

1+2&3()$ ,&&/ ,-../(''0
And The Always Awesome, Nonsensical
Random Buzzkill:

Maniac Muslim

Written by: Hamzah Moin

(Excerpts taken only)

9
The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle









With every philanthropic event
benefitting a certain cause in our
community, there comes a vocal and
determined opposition. These voices chide
the organization for choosing that specific
cause. They claim that some other cause is
more pressing, more relevant, more
deserving. They know of someone whose
suffering was worse, and who, therefore,
deserved more of our attention and
compassion. To this, my response is simple:
pain is not comparable and compassion is
not limited.
As Muslims, we have a duty to use
the blessings bestowed upon us to better
the circumstances of all of Gods
creation. To the merit of our community,
we often use our faith as motivation to
fuel our benevolent actions toward others.
However, the intention behind these
beautiful acts can sometimes be clouded
by ethnocentric ideologies. Immigrant
Muslim communities often rally around
dedicating money or support to those
suffering in their own home nations. Often,
these immigrant groups represent nations
that are indeed in dire circumstances. In
this way, there is significant benefit and
goodwill done through these actions. Yet,
the ever-present ethnocentrism leaves a
bitter aftertaste on these otherwise
altruistic actions. This attitude, in effect,
leads to a neglect of our others
communities.
Indeed, there are heinous crimes
against humanity and unimaginable
suffering occurring throughout the
world. As Muslims and global citizens,
this suffering deserves our utmost
concern and action. Often, this pain feels
strongest when it is our own nation.
However, we must not allow nationalism
to obscure our humanity. To diminish or
ignore the plight of all of our brothers
and sisters is to neglect our duty as
Muslims.
We are distinguished as humans
through our ability to foster empathy
and compassion for one another. While
we fundraise and donate to Syria,
Palestine, Pakistan, India, and Somalia, we
must not forget to care for and love all
of our fellow humans, whether they
share our heritage or not. We can care
deeply about a singular cause, but this
must never eclipse our empathy for all.
The beauty in our humanity is that it is
not scarce. We can care deeply and
enthusiastically about many peoples
simultaneously. We are not limited. We
are not rationed. We are human.
- Nima Dahir 2nd year Economics
and Pol itical Science

1u
The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle




A seconu giaue class sat in fiont of theii
little cups of uiit, thinking about what
was going on unueineath the soil.
0nly a few uays piioi they hau
placeu a seeu ueep unueineath,
hoping that it woulu one uay
spiout. They weie only in the
seconu. uiaue so they coulun't
ieally unueistanu the
concept that they hau to put
it unueineath the soil. They
uiun't see the point of why
the seeu hau to woik so haiu
to push its spiout all the way
to the top of the soil. Why coulun't
we just make things easiei foi
the pooi seeu anu help it by opening
it up anu pulling the spiout out of the
seeu ouiselves. Why uiu the seeu have to take
time anu effoit to become what it neeueu to be.
But the seeu knew. The seeu knew that in
oiuei to giow, it neeueu to be buiieu unuei the
uiit, smotheis in uaikness anu it hau to woik
haiu to ieach the light. Anu so it uiu.

This simple example of the peispective of seconu
giaueis on the spiouting of a seeu anu giowing of
a plant ietells itself time anu time again
thioughout oui lives, but on a uiffeient level. As
auults, we may smile at the innocence of these
chiluien, knowing that one uay they will iealize
that theie aie ceitain piocesses that may seem
haiu anu useless but aie actually essential, just
like in this plant. But often times we fail to take
that same example anu place it in oui lives. Theie
aie times in life we neeu to giow neeu too
become bettei anu stiongei people. It is uuiing
those times that we finu ouiselves smotheieu in
uaikness, feeling huit anu uisconnecteu. We may
feel like we aie coveieu in layeis upon layeis of
uiit, not knowing how to take a bieath, anu we
just want to ieach the suiface anu bieak thiough




to the light. But we know that in oiuei to
uo that, we aie going to woik ieally
haiu, anu at times it may huit
beyonu belief. It's at these times
that we often get fiustiateu anu
confuseu with what uou is
putting us thiough. We begin
to question why uou woulu
even allow this to happen oi
why Be isn't helping us in the
way that we aie asking. Anu
no mattei how haiu we
think, we just cannot see the
wisuom in being lockeu in layeis
of uaikness, stiuggling to ieach
the top. It is at this moment that
we neeu to stop, take a step back
anu leain fiom natuie. Stop anu imagine
what woulu happen to a butteifly if, aftei being
wiappeu in its cocoon foi so long, it ueciueu
to stop pushing its way out anu spieau its wings.
Imagine what woulu happen to a baby chick if it
stoppeu pecking its way thiough the egg to make
it to the woilu wheie chicks become chickens.

Things may seem to be toughei than necessaiy,
foi longei than necessaiy, in places wheie we
uon't want them to be. But know, nothing is
without ieason anu nothing is without cause. uou
sent us examples in Bis cieation to constantly
give us motivational boosts to get us thioughout
oui uays. 0pen youi eyes to the signs of uou anu
embiace youi inspiiation to move foiwaiu. As
Richaiu Cailson says, "If you watch how natuie
ueals with auveisity, continually ienewing itself,
you can't help but leain."

- Reehad Ramadan
!Verily, with
hardship comes
ease. Verily, with
hardship comes
ease."
Surah Al-Sharh: 5-6
Layers of Darkness
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The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle

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The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle
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The Iqra Newsletter Issue II: The Epic Struggle
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the newsletter contact Abshaar Narvel at

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