Activities carried out:      

 

• Friday Prayers

• MSA Footie

• Logo design competition

• Eid/ Diwali night

• Halal food festival

• Lecture

• Charity Projects

 

The year 2011-12 saw a total of 6 different activities being carried out by the MSA. The most important activity carried out by the MSA was the organization of the Friday Prayers. Muslims have to pray every Friday afternoon in congregation and the MSA used to organize the prayers by requesting an Imam (priest) from the Islamic Trustees of Hong Kong and setting a convenient time for everyone to come. When the members increased, the prayer room became inadequate to hold our numbers so we began booking larger rooms for the Friday Prayer. This activity has been continuing regularly every Friday since the beginning of the semester.

 

The year then kicked off with the MSA Footie (5 vs 5 Football) being organized in October 2011. This was an event which aimed at providing the members and interested nonmembers with an opportunity to meet and interact with their fellow colleagues in a lively environment. A total of 8 teams participated and each team consisted of 5-7 players. The tournament lasted a week and the venue was Flora Ho Sports Centre.

 

In the Month of October we held a Logo Design competition for the society open to all members. The designs were put up on the MSA Facebook group and the participants were given a chance to hear the public opinion and change their entrees before the final submission. The most popular entrees (using Facebook “likes”) were chosen and a panel of three judges were used to select the best of them. The best entrée is being used as the current logo of the MSA.

 

In November a joint celebration of the festivals of Eid and Diwali was held with the South Asian Students Society. Eid is a Muslim festival and Diwali is a Hindu festival. The celebrations were held in Global Lounge and the funding for the celebrations was provided by the Office of International Student Exchange.

 

In the month of November another event was organized; the Halal Food Festival. This event aimed at introducing the people to the general concept of Halal food (Halal is a term used to describe food that is legal to eat according to the rules of Islam). It was held in Global Lounge where a presentation took place followed by free halal food.

 

In the following year, in February we held a lecture “Islam and Education” open to both the university and public alike. A lecture hall was booked and posters and online media were used to advertise the lecture. We were fortunate enough to get Mr. Athar Khan, a well renowned public speaker, on comparative religion to be the guest speaker that evening.

 

The MSA also held some charity projects. In March 2012, the MSA sponsored a child’s studies. The funds for this project were arranged via donations from our members. In April, the MSA held its second charity project, the Box of Amal. Amal means hope in Arabic. This project collected donations (in all forms) for the people affected by the Philippine floods.