Muslim Students Association

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. Weekly Meeting Wednesday 6pm in Bingham 108 [Topic: Senior Panel Discussion]

This weeks meeting will be a panel discussion led by MSA Seniors. They will help answer challenging questions you have and were afriad to ask and give advice on how to deal with college pressures. We will also have FREE ICE CREAM at the meeting!

2. 4th Annual Jewish Muslim Arts Fest is here!!! (Thursday, April 17th, 7:30pm)

The 4th Annual Muslim-Jewish Arts Festival will be a night full of art, friendship, and unity. Enjoy performances of spoken word, tabla, a capella, and more. View beautiful artwork made by students and community members. Refreshments will be served.

Parking is available on Stadium Dr. and in the Rams Head Parking Deck. The center is located at the corner of Stadium Drive and Ridge Road, at the Carolina Club.

This event was made possible by NC Hillel, UNC Muslim Student Association, Carolina Student Arts Forum, Late Night Carolina, the Gwen and Aziz Sancar Foundation, and the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies.

3. Triangle MSA Picnic this Sunday!

Sunday, April 20th at Lake Crabtree Park- Dogwood Shelter from 1:00-5:00pm
So it's that time of year again-- exams, papers, stress. Take a break and come meet fellow Muslims from around the area for a lovely picnic! UNC, Duke, and State are all teaming up to bring you a sunny day in the park with good food, sports, the lake, and much more! If you need a ride, please RSVP to Sr. Yasmeen Zamamiri at zamamiri@email.unc.edu by Saturday at 5:00 pm. Also, if anyone has a car and has space for other people, please email Sr. Yasmeen as well.

4. S4Si-MSA Event!

Come and join us for the first ever Students for Students International and Muslim Students Association cosponsored event, A Cross-Cultural Education Conversation: A View into the Lives of Muslim Women. This event will feature a panel of speakers sharing their views about the lives of Muslim women today, addressing questions such as

· "What are the roles and expectations women in Muslim society?"

· "How does education fit into the role of traditional Muslim women on an international level?"

· "How have opportunities for Muslim women in education shifted in the past 40-50 years?"

· "What is the role of religion in determining opportunities for Muslim students at UNC?"

· "Why has home schooling become increasingly popular within the Muslim community?"

Speakers will include Yasmin Saikia, a UNC history professor with a focus in Southeast Asia and Women's Studies, Emily Joy Rothchild, an S4Si member who recently traveled abroad to Tanzania, and two students from MSA. This event will take place at 8pm on Tuesday, April 15th in Murphy 116. Refreshments will be provided.
5. Give Blood with the MSA!

There will be a blood drive held on Tuesday, April 15th at the Teague Residence Hall Basement 3 pm to 7:30 pm and at the School of Medicine from 10 am to 2:30 am. If you would like to give blood tomorrow, go to https://www.givesblood.org/give/get_started.php?orgID=281&driveID=2760&r... to make an appointment.

6. ELECTIONS!!

We will hold elections for next year's MSA Officers at our last meeting on Wed April 23. Please view the attached list of MSA members who are eligible to run for office. If you would like your name taken off the list, please email Br. Kamran at tariq@email.unc.edu

You must have served on the MSA Shura for one year to be elected president.

7. "C'Mon, I was Just Joking!" Play on Tuesday

The actors from Interactive Theatre Carolina present - "C'Mon, I was Just Joking!"

At a halloween party, the attendees, who are all dressed in stereotypical attire, are all "just joking" about racial, religious, and gender stereotypes. The actors invite the audience to participate through a discussion following the performance. It promises to be a great event!

What: Interactive Theatre Carolina presents an interactive skit called "C'Mon, I was Just Joking!" At a Halloween party, the actors are all dressed in stereotypical outfits as they "just joke" about racial, ethnic, religious, gender, etc. discrimination and stereotype. The actors pull the audience into their performance with a discussion about the issues raised by the play.

When: April 15, 6:00 - 7:30 pm

Where: UNC Law School (Van-Wettach Hall), Room 5042

Sponsored by UNC Law SBA

8. REMINDER: Arabic Class on Thursdays

This is a reminder that the Arabic grammar class led by Suzanne Barakat is every Thursday from 4-5 pm in Room 201 in the Stone Center. Please come on time! Email Suzanne Barakat at sbarakat@email.unc.edu if you have any questions.

9. Masjid Volunteers Needed

The Raleigh masjid needs help with its inauguration ceremony Friday night probably from about 11:30 to midnight on April 18th. Interested volunteers should email omawan@email.unc.edu or fbrahman@gmail.com.

10. Mariam Clinic Free Community Health Fair

On *Saturday, April 19th 10am-3pm* Mariam Clinic is participating in a *Free Community Health Fair*. Vendors will be offering people in the community free testing for high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes, cholesterol, mammograms, check out the web-site for more www.trainglehealthfair.com

We're recruiting volunteers who can share their enthusiasm and let the community know about Mariam Clinic. I know from experience, it's also a fun way to meet other volunteers and health care professionals who are active in the community. No medical experience necessary, you don't even have to be pre-med.

Just send me an email sarah.gach@gmail.com letting me know which time slots you are available for (1-hr increments , from 10 AM to 3 PM). We'll have at least two people manning the table at a time. Look forward to seeing you there!

11. Lecture on Indian Sufism Tomorrow

Tuesday April 15, 2008 at 5:30 pm Dr. Tanvir Anjum, visiting professor of
history from Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam University, "Locating Civil Society in
a Premodern Muslim Context: Chishti Sufism in the 13th and 14th Century
South Asia as a Case Study" in 4003 FedEx Global Education Center.
12. Collecting Money for Orphans in Syria

Sr. Suzanne Barakat will be collecting money at this week's MSA meeting on Wednesday for an orphanage in Syria. Please bring change and help make a difference in a child's life!

13. SWEAT Anti-Sweatshop Upcoming Events

WHAT: ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE Rally & March
NO to NAFTA, NO to Sweatshops! UNC SWEATFREE!
WHEN: Tuesday, April 15, 2008, 4:00pm
WHERE: Start in the UNC Pit (then march to the Law School for meeting)
RSVP on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=10501259089

UNC has invited Jorge Perez Lopez, a former U.S. government official who negotiated the labor "rights" in the North American Free Trade Agreement and other trade agreements and is the executive director of the "Fair" Labor Association (FLA). We are protesting his visit, as he is not qualified to advise Chancellor James Moeser's licensing labor code committee on human rights issues.
The FLA purports to be an "independent" monitor of working conditions in the apparel industry. But the organization is funded and controlled by the very corporations that have been repeatedly found to be sweatshop violators. www.flawatch.org
NAFTA has been a death sentence to local sovereignty, farmworker rights, human rights, environmental rights, indigenous struggles, and economic justice. NAFTA contributed to the deaths of so many immigrants crossing the border deserts, searching for basic dignity that they were denied by negotiators like Perez Lopez.
We need to hold our government accountable for destructive trade policies like NAFTA, and we need to hold our universities responsible for their continued reliance on sweatshop labor.

WHAT: Rally for Human Rights and Dignity
WHEN: Thursday, April 17, 2008, 12:00pm
WHERE: Outside South Building/Polk Place

SAW and the UNC Sweatfree Coalition have issued a deadline of April 16, 2008 for Chancellor Moeser and President Bowles to adopt the DSP for all 16 campuses in the UNC system. If the DSP is not adopted by the close of the business day on April 16, we will rally Thursday at noon outside South Building to show Chancellor Moeser that it is unacceptable to us that our universities continue to rely on the abuses of workers' human rights in order to make our Carolina education possible.

For more information, contact Sr. Salma Mirza at 716-432-1576/ salma.m.mirza@gmail.com or Sr. Dida El-Sourady at didae27@aol.com

14. Celebrate the Completion of the IAR Expansion Project with Sheikh Muhammad Jebril

On Friday April 18th, after Maghrib prayer (7:53 PM), we will celebrate the official opening of the completed expansion project.

World renowned Sheikh Muhammad Jebril will lead both Maghrib and Isha prayers and give us some words of advice after the Maghrib prayer. Imam Abdel Malik from Charlotte will also be with us and will give a speech about taking the masjid forward in serving the community.

We hope all of you, along with your family members and friends will come celebrate our milestone achievement. Refreshments will be served after the program.

If you need a ride to this event, please contact Br. John and johnml@email.unc.edu

15. Lost Soccer Ball at Relay for Life

Someone left a red soccer ball at the Relay for Life event two weeks ago. If it is yours, please contact Sr. Elvira at jelvira@email.unc.edu

16. Malcolm X talk uploaded on YouTube

The talk that Imam Khalid Griggs gave on Malcolm X back in February is now available to watch on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JLJgas3ftM

17. End of Year Smores Break

Tuesday, April 22nd at 9:00 pm in Teague Basketball Court
Enjoy a lovely night with fellow Muslims and get a delicious and halal snack right before cram time! Come out and socialize, share funny anecdotes, and make gooey halal S'mores!