There are three key motivations that drive the MSA's external policy: strengthening the "Umbrella of Muslim Organizations", expanding the MSA population, and building ties with other organizations on campus. In doing so, the external policies of the MSA serve to grow the community itself, as well as better establishing the MSA organizationally on campus.
The MSA and its sister organizations together form the "Umbrella of Muslim Organizations" on campus. The sister organizations are:
Each of the sister organizations caters to a specific niche that ultimately serves the greater Muslim community on campus. Furthermore, the MSA has a unique relationship with each organization.
The African-American community at UC Berkeley represents less than 2% of the school population. Consequently, the African-American Muslim community represents an even more numerically miniscule sliver of the population. Black Muslims have historically faced discrimination within Muslim spaces. At UC Berkeley, the relationship between the MSA and FAAM has historically been troubled. As of 2019, all tensions between the MSA and FAAM have been resolved. The purpose of FAAM is to provide a space for the expression of the Black Muslim identity. The MSA supports FAAM in any way possible whether that is through moral or financial support. Being such a small community, FAAM is run by the intense efforts of a few dedicated boardmembers. The key to good relations with FAAM is building strong personal connections with these 1-3 key boardmembers, whoever they might be. Once a year the MSA and FAAM will hold a joint board social. The MSA and FAAM should hold a handful of collaboration events throughout the year.
The Muslim community is enrolled in a diverse set of majors. The goal of AMPD is to guide Muslim students into their desired career through seminars, workshops, and alumni connections. The MSA and AMPD have a uniquely close relationship, as all of AMPD's funding comes directly from the MSA. Although AMPD has full authority over their events, the MSA leadership will naturally have a strong say in how AMPD events look. AMPD attends the weekly leadership meetings (with the committee heads). AMPD functionally is more or less a large committee. Consequently, the Treasurer and IVP handle the day to day affairs with AMPD, while the EVP steps in if needed. AMPD maintains a brand independent from the MSA. Historically, AMPD has attracted a different personality type than those that usually attend MSA events; therefore, it is beneficial that AMPD maintains its image as an independent organization.
The Muslim community, like any other, can serve to benefit from mental health resources. MMHI provides therapist consultations, group discussions, and seminars. MMHI receives a substantial amount of funding independently. For collaboration events, the cost is typically split between the MSA and MMHI, while the MSA conducts marketing given its larger community size. MMHI targets a slightly different demographic than the MSA, striving to connect with those who might not feel religious enough for MSA spaces. The MSA and MMHI host the annual "Marriage Workshop" as well as a slew of other smaller events. MMHI attends the weekly leadership meetings (with the committee heads).
Threads serves as a creative space for the Muslim community. Their once a semester magazine publication includes personal narratives, poetry, and academic pieces. Threads also operates a website with pieces published online. Threads caters to a community most different from the traditional MSA community (although there is overlap). Threads has readership in the MSA community as well as individuals from more secular backgrounds. Threads could potentially serve as an anchor for the MSA to recruit new members that are less observant Muslims. The MSA and Threads host an annual joint social.
Thaqalayn serves Shia-identifying students in the Muslim community. MSA seeks to maintain strong relationships with the Shia community on campus through regular outreach and joint collaborations, as well as inviting Shia students to give input on MSA's efforts. Thaqalayn actively promotes cooperation and collaboration with the broader Muslim community, and invites people from other religious backgrounds to better understand their teachings.
Individuals within the MSA community hail from a number of different cultural communities. The two cultural organizations that represent the most MSA members are the Pakistani Student Association and the Arab Student Union. Beyond these two there is the Afghani Student Association, the Bengali Student Association, Bears for Palestine, and many more (all included in the MSA relationship map). The MSA currently has only personal ties with boardmembers of these organizations; there are no institutional ties. The MSA will hold collaboration events with these cultural organizations occasionally. The main point to remember when collaborating with cultural organizations is making sure to balance relations with all the different cultures, as to not make numerical minority groups within our community feel marginalized.
There are three categories of Muslim identifying students on campus:
The MSA has more or less captured the entirety of the first category. The third category would likely have little to no interest in the MSA and is not worth pursuing. However, the second category is prime for the MSA to expand into. There is a proportion of this category that already attend MSA events; however, a great deal currently do not. These individuals might have varying levels of religiousity but generally have some degree of committment to Islam (ie. attend Jummah prayers, but don't pray five times a day). Recruiting from this group works to expand the MSA, while also serving as a means of conducting da'wah. The greatest advantage of collaborations with cultural organizations is to tap into this second category, Muslims who identify stronger with their culture than with Islam.
The MSA has minor relations with other organizations. The Community Service and Da'wah Committees both maintain relations with Christian groups on campus. The MSA has relations with the Sikh Student Association through co-hosting demonstrations in support of oppressed Muslims in India. The relationship with the Sikh Student Association is at the personal level between the EVP and their boardmembers, there are no strong institutional ties. The MSA has vague relations with all the other members of MEMSSA.
If you were instructed to read this page as part of an online training curriculum, you must submit this quiz and answer all questions correctly. In the case that you do not answer a question correctly, you may view which questions were incorrect and take the quiz again.
