Muslim Students Association offers cultural flavors

The Muslim Students Association sought to share both flavors and culture at their event on Monday.

At their Islamic Cultural Food Lounge event on Monday evening, the MSA offered students a taste of different Muslim cuisines.

Hoping to bring in as much diversity as possible, the MSA reached out to other cultural groups — including the Penn Pakistan Association, Penn African Students Association, Penn Bengali Students Association and PennWorld — to help host the event. Attendees had an opportunity to interact and socialize with students from the different cultural groups, learn more about their practices and make new friends.

“Who doesn’t love food? Through this event, we really wanted to get students to not only sample the different cuisines but, also learn more about the Muslim life and culture,” College sophomore and MSA board council member Irtiqa Fazili said.

This is just the first of several events in the MSA’s Islamic Discovery Series, during which they will host a variety of intercultural and interfaith events. Next, the MSA will host an Abrahamic Interfaith Dialogue, a Speed-Faithing event, a community service session with Volunteering with FeedPhilly, an Interfaith Sermon Slam, a Faculty Luncheon and a movie screening of “Enemy of the Reich.”

“It’s just really a good way to bring people together and socialize with students from different backgrounds,” College junior and PennWorld member Sarah Burns said.

All these events are geared toward promoting the Islamic religion and raising awareness about the Muslim community in general. Moreover, the MSA hopes to further the understanding of Penn students when it comes to the Islamic religion. By launching the event series, they hope to connect both Muslim and non-Muslim students and encourage them to engage in powerful dialogue.

MSA Vice President and Engineering senior Hanna Elmongy said that her experience in MSA so far has been nothing but welcoming.

“PMSA welcomed me like a family. When I first came in as a freshman, the upperclassmen treated me like a little sister,” Elmongy said. “When I had a hard time with classes, they would offer to tutor me. And even up to today, during our alumni banquet, the MSA seniors continue to drop by.”

The next event in the Islamic Discovery Series — an Abrahamic Interfaith Dialogue — will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 16 in Shotel Dubin Auditorium in Hillel. A full schedule of events can be found at the MSA’s website.

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