The U of M Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) held its 35th annual conference from Nov. 14-16, bringing together students and community members for a series of lectures, workshops and discussions on Muslim identity.
The event included speakers from across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Faisal Shamim Zahed current president of MSA, said the conference remains one of the group’s key events.
“[This is] one of the largest Islamic conferences we have in Manitoba,” he said. He added that the event was designed to welcome a wide range of attendees. “This is not for Muslims only […] this is for everyone, from any religion.”
Zahed said the conference helps students “revive the faith” and hear different perspectives. He said the weekend programming allows students to “connect spiritually” and learn from speakers.
Adil Hayat, the MSA external relations manager, said the event carries a long legacy. “It’s the 35th annual conference, so we have a legacy that we keep up,” he said. According to Hayat, the event typically draws 300 to 400 attendees.
Hayat said there are two moments that stood out to him this year “The first one that sticks out is we’re hosting our first Reverts panel,” he said. “That means we had a lot of individuals […] who have embraced Islam [..] they have reverted to Islam.”
The second highlight, for Hayat, was a presentation by children from Iqra Islamic school, where students between the ages of six and 13 recited the Quran and performed a nasheed — a hymn — accompanied by storytelling. Hayat said, “They did a great job, and it started off our conference with a big hit.”
Abu Ibrahim, a speaker from the i3 Institute, spoke about the difficulties Muslim students encounter in balancing religious life with Western cultural expectations. He said many students are “caught between two worlds” and experience pressure to “keep Islam to ourselves and to our families and to our mosques” rather than express their identity publicly.
Mariyam Mohammad, past president of MSA, addressed the audience on the subject of hypocrisy and righteousness among Muslims. She encouraged students to fully embrace their faith. “If you want to be within the fold Islam, you should be completely embracing it,” she said. She described her lecture as a “reminder, a wake-up call for the ummah (Muslim community), for the students here.”
Farhin Mohammed, a first-year international student and attendee, expressed her appreciation for the event. “It answered a lot of questions,” she said, especially guidance regarding friendships and actions in daily life.
Another student attendee, Ishraqul Alam, said the conference reinforced the importance of understanding Muslim identity in a Canadian context. He said the event “brings the entire student body together, as well as the community,” and highlighted the challenge of defining Muslim identity in a multicultural setting. He said the main message he will use in his daily life from the lectures is “of being righteous, treating other people right, embodying the values of Islam, not what you see in the media.”
