Uiuc Muslim Students Association

The Muslim Students Association at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign is a group of Muslim students on campus who are dedicated to supporting one another and enriching our lives through religious education, social justice activism, and community building. Our goal is to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all Muslim students at our university, while providing resources and support to help them navigate the challenges of college life. We also strive to bring the teachings and values of Islam to the forefront of our community and share them with the wider university body. On January 1st 1963, about seventy Muslim students, representing nearly ten campus organizations, congregated at the Urbana campus of the University of Illinois to consider the possibility of establishing the MSA. There was no money, no plan, no agenda and no future direction. What these students did not lack, however, was the commitment to sacrifice time, money and even their educational plans, if called for, to further the cause of Islam by promoting unity among Muslim students of varied backgrounds and nationalities. By the time MSA held its first convention in the summer of 1963 and adopted a constitution, the number of affiliated chapters had already more than doubled. By the time MSA initiated and transferred its major functions to the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) in 1983, the MSA could boast almost 300 student chapters and just about the same number of non-student Muslim communities affiliated with it.