MSA Spreads Mental Health Awareness

By: Marian Mohamed
Staff Writer

MSA provides a safe space for Muslims and even non-Muslims to share their thoughts, give advice, and form bonds with fellow club members.

Sumday Addish, one of the club leaders, believes that the club explores bigger ideas on giving Islam a platform here at Green River.

“We haven’t started yet but we’re planning to have a Islamic Awareness week in the spring before Ramadan and having a week full of just seminars about Islam and workshops,” said Addish.

MSA club members sit down every Thursday at 12 p.m. to share their own experiences in their own respective communities and how they are perceived in public. Last week the Muslim Student Association at Green River College sat down and had a discussion about the role that mental health has in the Muslim community. They discussed their own experiences and coming forward to their family members. But, they were usually met with hesitance and are pushed away. It is discussions like these that can help the Muslim community better understand how mental health can significantly influence one’s faith.

“I notice that a lot of the time when people tend to have mental health issues in the Muslim Community, they tend to say their Iman is like a little low or they need to read Quran more and pray more. That’s not the only way to help them.” Addish said.

Mental health is rarely talked about in the Muslim community as there is stigmatization about the topic. This has made many Muslims feel as though they can’t get help from their families who believe that mental illness is not a problem and all they have to do is pray it away. An agreement was concluded during the discussion on how family members, specifically parents who have gone through a war in their home countries, do not understand why their child is so stressed out about their classes.

“My parents don’t understand you know,” said Hanan Ali. “When it was their generation there were no resources and it was forced onto them to read the Quran (Islamic Holy Book) and look to God for guidance. So I don’t really ask them. A lot of Somali [Muslim] families ran away from war to come to America. My stress is nothing compared to what they went through.”

Despite there still being a very disapproving view of mental illness within the Muslim community, there is still time for it to change. MSA is doing its job well enough for allowing Muslim students at Green River College to share their thoughts, vent to their fellow club members, and have time to grow from these experiences.