Since its founding at Wake Forest in 2011, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) has created a sense of belonging for Muslim students on Wake Forest’s campus. 

“The Wake Forest Muslim Student Association fosters a safe and inclusive space for Muslims on campus, promotes a sense of belonging by serving the Wake Forest and Winston-Salem communities, and provides opportunities for intellectual discussions regarding Islam,” senior President Hazik Azam said. 

The MSA is a multi-national student union, spreading across the United States and Canada. The religious organization is dedicated to the establishment of Islamic societies on college campuses, as well as maintaining a sense of Islamic community in the academic world. 

The MSA was created in 1963, with the intent of serving millions of Muslim students throughout their academic years. From its inception at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the MSA has made its way onto several college campuses. 

There is a dedicated lounge on Wake Forest’s campus for the MSA, located within Collins Residence Hall. This lounge includes a prayer space where students are free and encouraged to engage with their Muslim identities. 

On top of this, there are several events hosted by the MSA. These include weekly Friday prayer, biweekly hangouts and group outings to bowling or cookouts. Other activities the MSA puts on are providing food and community during Ramadan — the Islamic month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. In observance of this holiday, the MSA demonstrates Iftar (breaking one’s fast) and Suhoor (starting one’s fast) as well as incorporating interfaith collaboration events in their monthly activities. 

Khansa Ahmed, class of 2026, began her involvement with the MSA before even attending Wake Forest. 

“I toured the campus back in March of 2022, the semester before I became an official student, and saw a flier about Muslim Awareness Week,” Ahmed recalled. 

After seeing the flier on campus, Ahmed decided to attend the open Jummah event — an afternoon Friday prayer — and has since been a dedicated member of the community. 

“MSA, our chaplain and the students within the organization really shaped my experience at Wake [Forest], helping me adjust to the campus and college life,” Ahmed said.

One of many things Ahmed values about the MSA is how welcoming and kind all of the members are. 

“They really encouraged me to be myself and helped me through some tough times,” Ahmed said. “I’ve made lifelong friends within the MSA and gained many opportunities from just being associated with them.” 

Alizeh Chamadia, a sophomore and secretary of the MSA, also joined MSA when she was a freshman. Since then, MSA has been integral to her fostering a college community where she felt represented. She echoed Ahmed’s sentiment.

“I feel like we’re very good at supporting our community when it comes to difficult times, especially with everything going on right now with Israel and Palestine,” Chamadia said. “I feel like we did a good job of providing a safe space for our community members.”

Through her growing love and appreciation for the MSA, Ahmed chose to run for an executive position on the board at the end of her freshman year. As a sophomore, Ahmed is the chair of diversity and inclusion. 

In this position, Ahmed works to help students feel as she felt when she first joined the community. “I want others to feel welcomed, seen, heard and safe,” she said. 

A vital part of Ahmed’s role is connecting with students: asking for feedback on coordinated events and understanding what events others would like to see in the future. 

“I heavily encourage students to speak their minds, provide feedback and attend open executive meetings,” Ahmed said. Through this engagement, Ahmed is able to serve as an advocate for these students, showcasing their thoughts and values during executive and Wake Forest administrative meetings. 

As well as engaging with fellow students, Ahmed connects with other organizations across campus to create events for everyone to enjoy. “My favorite event that I came up with this year was the ‘make your own hijab workshop,’ where I collaborated with the Waker Space to spread awareness about the hijab,” she said.

One of the most important takeaways Ahmed shared is that the MSA is not only a community for Muslim students, but for everyone. Ahmed shares that many of her non-Muslim friends will attend the MSA’s events and even help provide feedback for further collaborations and activities. 

“Everyone is welcome to the MSA, and we really appreciate and love having students come to our events,” she said. 

Chamadia agreed.

“I always love the festival which we had, I think around last week,” Chamadia said. “It’s usually near the end of Ramadan, and our community comes together — but it’s not closed off. It’s open to members of the Wake Forest community in general. And so that’s always nice to see.” 

She continued. “I love when I hear about non-Muslims also fasting with their Muslim friends. I think that’s just incredible to see the support that even non-Muslims on campus show to our community.”

Muslim or not, members of the MSA reinforced, the organization provides a space for students to be seen and heard. 

“It is essentially a home away from home for me,” said Ahmed.  

The Wake Forest Muslim Student Association can be found on Instagram @wfu_msa and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wfumsa.