The new year has already been an historic one for Muslim students at the University of Michigan as, for the first time ever, the campus has a paid chaplain to address the needs and concerns of the community there.
Mohammed Tayssir Safi, a 2006 graduate of the university, was hired for the position and has recently issued his first message to the masses.
A snippet of the statement:
I thank the MMAF board, the alumni, the students, and the community at large for entrusting me with this duty. The initial phase of this project entails mapping out what is needed to address our particular community’s concerns as well as enrich our lives. Our forefather Adam’s (May God’s peace be upon him) descendants are beautifully different. Therefore in order to serve you effectively,your input and feedback are priceless. I will seek you out, God willing, and I hope you seek me out as well. We intend to serve the community at large, not one group, organization, or sect. The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) brought people together and did not tear them apart. We pray that the days of divisiveness and marginalization are over and that we now enter a time of inclusivity and unity. I thank you again for this opportunity and I pray God strengthens me to do what is right and needed.
Safi is also quoted as saying, "one reason there's not a more organized Muslim nucleus at U-M and other universities is that many second- and third-generation American Muslims, whose parents or grandparents emigrated to America in the 1960s and 70s, are still learning how to integrate their religion into their tenure at American colleges."
The new chaplain ends his welcoming message to consituents with a dua, or supplication, for them all:
May God gaze upon our hearts a gaze after which we will be free of sin and distraction. May that Divine gaze change our condition, with goodness and ease, to a condition that is pleasing to Him in this life and the next. May God bless these lands that we live in and may God’s mercy envelop the people of these lands. We ask God for sincerity in our worship and to be given the means to worship Him as is befitting of Him.
To contact Chaplain Mohammed Tayssir students may use muslimchaplain@umich.edu. View the video to the left for a brief, personal message from him.
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