Hawzah News Agency- The umbrella organisation, which represents over 350,000 Muslim university students across the UK and Ireland, hosted the 62nd FOSIS conference this weekend.
The two-day event was full of keynote speeches from prominent Muslim leaders, various hands-on workshops, and networking opportunities for the next generation of Muslim leaders and professionals.
The event was hosted at the Muath Trust, the largest Muslim community centre in Birmingham, providing education and classes to the youth, among other functions.
It was attended by hundreds of students from many different Islamic societies across the UK, and was centred around the theme, “Rise and Lead From Consumers to Change makers''.
In an opening speech, FOSIS president Zain Islam, highlighted the importance for Muslim student societies in UK universities amidst an increasing climate of islamophobia and discrimination.
He said: “FOSIS has always been there… it’s from this community, your community and my community of Muslim students, that some of the greatest recent leaders of the Ummah have blossomed, from community leaders, duat, imams, students of knowledge, activists, heads of states and governments, and more, this is our history and this is our legacy''.
He added: “As practicing Muslims, highly educated, at one of the best countries for higher education in the world, those who are practicing, proud of their religion, who are leading Islamic societies, if they aren’t going to be the drivers of that change, then honestly, who is?”
FOSIS was founded in 1963 by a group of seven Muslim students, at a time when Muslim students only numbered a few hundred.
Zain Islam described how these students’ went on to form FOSIS when “Islamophobia was rife'', and how they still decided to form an organisation “that led to the birth of FOSIS''.
“Today, the Federation represents over 350,000 muslim students in the UK and Ireland'', he said.
Muslim student societies at UK universities have been facing an increasing sentiment of alienation from governing bodies such as the National Union of Students (NUS).
“The call for change makers couldn’t be more urgent than it is today'', as Zain Islam went on to describe the alarming rise of Islamophobia in the media, university campuses and streets of the UK.
5Pillars Deputy Editor, Dilly Hussain described how in the last month alone, 5Pillars have covered over 50 cases of Islamophobic abuse or attacks in the streets of Britain.
Dr. Wajid Akhter (Secretary General of Muslim Council of Britain) was adamant that Muslim students in Britain are in one of the most advantageous positions across the Muslim world.
Source: 5 PILLARS
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