Check Out MSA UCLA on Social Media!
Connect with the community!
Instagram
Stay the most up to date with MSA events!
Weekly Newsletter
Receive our week-in-preview emails!
YouTube
Subscribe to Our Channel!
Facebook Group
Follow our Facebook page!
CHAPLAINCY
Ustadh Tabari Zahir
Tabari Abdul-Zahir began formally studying the Islamic Sciences in early 2003 with Muslim scholars at Zaytuna Institute. Due to a series of bad choices and spiritual heedlessness, he found himself in federal prison for a non-violent drug crime from 2005-2016. It was in prison that Abdul-Zahir made the transformative ‘Tauba’ which Imam Ghazali said everyone needs to make one time in their life. In prison, Abdul-Zahir spent all of his time learning and teaching Aqeedah, Fiqh, Tazkiya, and Arabic which make up the Tayba Foundation educational curriculum.
Upon release, Abdul-Zahir completed an Associates degree in Behavioral Sciences, a Bachelor’s in Arabic Language, and a Master's in Clinical Social Work. He was also commissioned by the Tayba Foundation to write a book to serve as an introduction to Islam and the Tayba study curriculum for Muslims who are incarcerated. This book was completed in late 2017 and is called, ‘Introduction to Islam: with practical examples and advice for incarcerated Muslims’ aka Islam 099.
Currently, Abdul-Zahir is using his Master’s of Social Work working as a therapist and drug counselor, while directing both the national and local re-entry programs for the Tayba Foundation in Southern California where he also serves by delivering khutbas to the local communities and runs a spiritual study group for Tayba students.
MSA PROJECTS
See the various projects that operate under MSA's umbrella that provide service to the community or perspective on pertinent issues. Our projects are housed in the UCLA Community Programs Office and UCLA Student Media.
Al-Talib News-Magazine
Editor-in-Chief: Maham Kazmi
Website: http://al-talib.org/
Email: ccasabal@media.ucla.edu
Instagram: @altalibnewsmag
Al-Talib provides an independent perspective on issues important to Muslim communities. Targeting a college-age audience, we seek to create an outlet for activism on and off campus, a platform for representation of all facets of the Muslim-American communities and a safe space for sensitive topics. We believe that this sort of dialogue, no matter how uncomfortable it may be at times, is necessary in order for our community to appreciate and celebrate its diversity.
Incarcerated Youth Tutorial Project
Project Director: Simrah Ahmed
Email: iytp.ucla@gmail.com
Facebook Group: LINK
Instagram: @iytp.at.ucla
The Incarcerated Youth Tutorial Project was created with the goal of providing education to historically marginalized communities. In order to achieve this goal, we tutor and mentor high school students of the Boyle Heights community at Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School as well as incarcerated youth at Camp Fred Miller. By tutoring them in math, reading, or even career planning, our goal is that the children of these communities graduate high school and find ample job opportunities. Email us at iytp.ucla@gmail.com if you are interested. We would love to have you!
Mentors for Academic and Peer Support
Project Director: Mazin Awad
Email: maps.ucla@gmail.com
Facebook Group: LINK
Instagram: @mapsxucla
MAPS is dedicated to improve youth education in Los Angeles. MAPS was founded by the MSA at UCLA in 2000 to strengthen educational equity and inter-community activism.
The project takes a proactive, hands-on approach to shaping the futures of at-risk and under-served students in Watts and Downtown Los Angeles. Members of MAPS are on the frontlines of the war on education inequality, mentoring students in everything from college application literacy to gang intervention and drug awareness. Join now and become an agent of Allah’s justice, help the students that have been left behind get ahead!
UMMA Volunteer Project
Project Director: Zaina Sharqawi
Email: umma.clinic.vol@gmail.com
Facebook Group: LINK
Instagram: @ummavolunteerproject
UVP’s mission is to improve the well-being of underserved communities by ensuring access to high-quality healthcare for all, regardless of financial ability. We create opportunities for refugees, immigrants, unhoused individuals, and others to consult with physicians, learn about preventive health, and gain a clearer understanding of their overall well-being. UVP also provides aspiring healthcare professionals with valuable clinical experience, opportunities to network with physicians and medical students, and insight into the systemic disparities in healthcare through our health fairs. UVP is also launching a new research committee focused on investigating healthcare disparities affecting minority communities in Los Angeles. This initiative aims to shed light on the systemic barriers these groups face, helping to inform and improve access to equitable healthcare.
Academic Mentorship and Professional Development
Co-Project Directors: Taha Ahmed & Heba Bounar
Email: ampd@msabruins.com
Instagram: @ampducla
AMPD provides MSA UCLA members services and resources to become stronger muslim leaders in the academic and professional spheres through free textbook loans and study notes, peer and alumni mentorships, pre-professional workshops and internships. Our peer mentorship program pairs incoming students with the upperclassmen and guides them through the Muslim college student experience. Students are further guided towards the profession they are interested in through internships, pre-professional workshops and an annual networking event.
Mentorship Sign-up form: LINK
Food Drive Initiative
Project Director: Ester Sosa
Email: thefooddriveiniatiative@gmail.com
Instagram: @fooddriveinitiative
The Food Drive Initiative is a student-run community project within in the Muslim Student Association of UCLA that seeks an organized effort with a group of committed and motivated college students to get together and contribute some money once or twice a month throughout the academic quarter, and with these funds, will purchase food items and prepare these items for distribution to less fortunate people around the immediate LA area. Food items include sandwiches, chips, and water. The goal of this project is to organize and unite our efforts into giving back to the community within Los Angeles and have the opportunity to play an integral part in the empowerment of our volunteers within the UCLA community to the greater Los Angeles area. Sign up to volunteer here
The Beautiful Mind Project
Project Director: Suzaan Mehreen
Email: bmp.ucla@gmail.com
Instagram: @bmpatucla
The Beautiful Mind Project aims to construct a well-rounded understanding of mental health in the Muslim community that transcends socio-cultural, political, and physical barriers of stigmatization by utilizing Islamic principles as a source of mental wellness. We aim to emphasizes the delicate balance between mental, spiritual, and physical health by creating a safe space/dialogue for mental, physical and spiritual health wellness, providing access to mental health resources and professionals for Muslim students on campus. We also aim to cultivate Muslim leadership in the field of mental health and wellness by providing information and opportunities to meet with Muslim professionals in this field.
