The Muslim Student Association (MSA) is a club in which Muslim, and non-Muslim students at Malden High, can come after school on Tuesdays from 2:20 until 3:30 in B336 to discuss religion, participate in activities, and be in an atmosphere of many similarities.
“Basically, the activities are also to create a community within the school and just to bring together all the Muslims up. We can sense it's obviously a minority group, and we wanna make sure everyone's included,” stated Sabrina Kharkhach, event coordinator of the MSA.
On January 17th, the MSA hosted their first bake sale outside of the main office where they served homemade treats for students and teachers at the high school.
The MSA started last year and a lot has changed since then regarding roles, organization, and structural reasons. “Because we have a lot more members starting with definitely so I feel like there's a lot more energy in the club and definitely more organized definitely more structured too because I feel like last year it wasn't just because of, like, I guess, some of the offers might have been busy, so it wasn't as structured as we wanted to. But this year, we've definitely taken the step, and it's more how we planned it to be,” claimed Shiza Zahid, secretary of the MSA.
“I think this is the right position for me because I really like making the activities outside of the club, like, events. and I also wanna plan, like, sometime, like, after school hours, like, weekends, something like that. Just for us to be more involved within the outside community outside of MHS, hopefully. in the Muslim Masjid or maybe, like, just anywhere.” stated Kharkhach about her position as event coordinator.
The food being served during the bake sale was homemade which was a very creative and thoughtful way of serving the community at MHS. “Most of the food is homemade and I think only the cookies are store-bought, but we tried to make it as authentic as possible.” stated Zahid. Considering this is the Muslim Student Association’s first bake sale, they approached this in a very professional manner and by the end everyone was glad everything worked out well.
The MSA also has plans regarding more events, specifically during the time of Ramadan. Zahid was able to give us a sneak peek, saying, “Well, we do have something in mind, not to spill too much, but something in Ramadan, hopefully, with some kids. So stay tuned for that.”
The MSA has a variety of goals regarding the club, the events they will host in the future, and especially this bake sale that they are hosting. “Just to raise enough funds so we can make the MSA achieve what we wanted it to be like and for the coming freshmen and just to make them feel welcomed here,” said Zahid.
The Muslim Student Association has proven to be a successful, welcoming club and is a great environment to pitch in and learn about the Islamic religion while also having fun with other members by doing activities, hosting events, and being around like-minded people who will ensure a good time. Check it out on Tuesdays after school in room B336 from 2:20 to 3:30, and follow their Instagram (@maldenmsa), to stay updated with the club as well as seeing how such a well-functioning club has a promising future.
