The UCD Islamic Society raised over €1,000 during their Charity Week, which took place from Monday 26th October to Sunday 1st November.Throughout the duration of the week, which was run in conjunction with the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), an estimated €1,200 was raised in aid of orphanages and schools in Kenya, Somalia, Palestine, Gaza and Kashmir.
The first event of the week was held in the Student Centre, where the society held a Cake Sale. Volunteers baked or donated cakes in addition to selling henna art and tattoos to any students interested in having body art applied.
Other events that took place during the week included a movie night on the evening of Thursday 29th, featuring the award-winning documentary Occupation 101, a film depicting the conflict between Israel and Palestine and a brief history of the conflict. As well as this a women’s-only event called ‘My Fair Lady’ ran the following night and included pampering sessions, ice-cream indulgence, cake decorating, and ‘fear factoring’, amongst other activities.
The Islamic Society also held a football tournament in collaboration with the Islamic Society in the Dublin Institute of Technology. The tournament was held on the 31st October and involved sixteen teams competing on UCD’s Astroturf pitches.
To raise money during these events, collections were held in Tallaght Mosque after Jummah, the community congregational prayer.
The UCD Islamic Society President, Moosa Patel, said that “overall, [the week] was quite successful, considering it was during the mid-term exams. Our aim at the start was to try raise around €1000, so due to the grace of God, we accomplished just that. But in Islam, it’s not always about the results, but about the intention and the action that follows it.”
Other aims of the society during the Charity Week were to show Muslim students in a different light and increase the awareness of Islam, rather than “the stereotypes that you see and hear on TV. We want to show that it is part of our faith to give in charity and that we too work to benefit society.” He also felt that it gave members of the society and Muslim students – in both secondary schools and at a university level – the opportunity to get involved and help out, so that “they feel like they are contributing and making a difference.”
The Islamic Society hopes to follow up on the success of this year’s event with the rest of the semester’s activities. Their most recent event included a lecture organised by FOSIS on 5th November entitled “Dude, Where’s My Religion?” featuring a guest lecture by world-renowned Islamic preacher, Yusha Evans, which was the largest in a series of eleven held nationwide.
Comments are closed.