Community News 16-25

Oklahoma Muslims donate blood

Muslims in Oklahoma came together at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City for a blood drive. “We are excited to partner with the American Red Cross to aid in vital, life-saving blood donation campaigns,” Thomaira Babbit, CAIR-Oklahoma’s development coordinator, said in a news release.

“The Oklahoma Muslim community is composed of dedicated members of the broader Sooner community and they care about the well-being, as well as quality of life available to all Oklahomans in our great state.”

The blood drive is part of the Oklahoma Muslims Care campaign designed to offer volunteers an opportunity to show their pride in their state and give back to people and communities in need.
Babbit said CAIR-Oklahoma will continue the Oklahoma Muslims Care campaign throughout the summer with service days at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and food drives with Feed the Children, among other projects.

Benedictine student diplomats receive honors

A team of 23 students from Illinois’ Benedictine University were honored at the Model United Nations where they represented Seychelles and Lesotho.
Model U.N. is a simulation of the U.N. General Assembly at which college students represent member states to debate pressing issues confronting the world. This interactive learning experience engages young people in the study and discussion of global issues and encourages them to develop lifelong skills such as research, writing, public speaking, problem-solving, consensus building, conflict resolution and compromise cooperation.

At this year’s conference, a team made up of seven students from Benedictine University and seven from Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an, China, received the Distinguished Delegation award and three Outstanding Position Paper awards for their representation of Seychelles.

Among the winning team were Ariya Siddiqui, Ayesha Afsar, Qyle Iftikhar, Omehabiba Khan,  Zara Khan, Roman Mohammed, of Bolingbrook, Mahira Musani, and Yara Rashad.

Hijab Awareness event held at UC Davis

The Hijab continues to remain a puzzle for many Americans and there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding it. Contrary to many perceptions it is not just Muslims who wear the hijab but people of other faith communities also do. In order to remove the confusion Muslim and Sikh students UC Davis organized an event last month.

The MSA partnered with the Sikh Cultural Association to host a Turban & Hijab-a-thon on May 14. For each non-covering student who agreed to wear a hijab or turban for the day, the two organizations pledged to donate $5 to the The Pantry.

Eighty students of various cultural and religious backgrounds participated in the daylong challenge, which culminated with a roundtable discussion about participants’ experiences and the ultimate meaning behind the wraps and scarves.

Syed, Islam win scholarships

Celebrate Fairfax, Inc. (CFI), producer of the award winning Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, announced the recipients of their Celebrate Fairfax Community Spirit Scholarship Program.Ten Community Spirit Scholarships are annually awarded to Fairfax County graduating seniors who demonstrate excellence in community service, leadership, academics and extracurricular activities.

Selected by the Board of the nonprofit Celebrate Fairfax, Inc., one scholarship recipient is named from each of Fairfax County’s Supervisory Districts, as well as one at-large scholarship. Among this year’s scholars are Celia Islam and Faraz Syed.

Fahim-Faraaz Syed, a Mason District resident attending Lake Braddock Secondary School, has made a difference in the lives of the residents of the Aarondale Assisted Living Home through weekly visits since his sophomore year. He has been honored with an AP Scholar award and first place in the Lake Braddock High School Science Fair. Fahim-Faraaz has held an internship at George Washington University for research in both nanotechnology and microbiology, and hopes that his research will contribute important data to the public health industry.

Fahim-Faraaz will be attending The George Washington University in the fall and plans to study Chemistry.

Celia Islam, a Providence District resident and Marshall High School student, has organized many different programs for causes that are close to her heart, including the Pennies for Patients campaign, a 5K walk in memory of Sam Solomon, and the Buddy Program at Chesterbrook Residence. She founded a non-profit organization that raises funds for impoverished children in developing countries called the Children’s Trust Fund, and is also a published writer for the Huffington Post. Celia has served as Concertmaster and President of the Marshall Philharmonic Orchestra, been a finalist in the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair and is the president and Founder of the Marshall High School Key Club. Additionally, she has held an internship at the National Institute on Aging and with the George Washington University Department of Biochemistry.Celia will be attending The George Washington University in the fall and has been admitted to the Seven Year BA/MD program.

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