About MSA
You’re not alone. You belong here.
The Muslim Students Association at Michigan Technological University is a student-led community in Houghton, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We gather for prayer, learning, and friendship, and we welcome anyone curious about Islam or about life as a Muslim at Tech.
Our Vision
To foster a welcoming and spiritually enriching environment where Muslim students thrive academically, socially, and spiritually, while building bridges of understanding with the broader MTU community through faith, service, and dialogue.
Our Goals
We strive to preserve and celebrate Islamic identity on campus, strengthen unity among Muslim students, provide educational opportunities about Islam, promote interfaith dialogue and cultural understanding, and support students’ spiritual, academic, and personal well-being.
Our Mission
Our purpose, set out in Article II of the MSA constitution, is to:
- Promote friendship between Muslim students and the Michigan Tech community.
- Promote and enhance Islamic culture and traditions through displays, seminars, and active participation in campus life.
- Facilitate Islamic prayers and festivals and arrange gatherings.
- Arrange workshops and seminars on educational systems and traditions from Muslim countries represented at MTU.
- Enhance cooperation between Muslim students and MTU faculty.
A Little History
For many years, Muslim students have built and sustained a home for prayer, learning, and community in the Keweenaw, through Friday sermons (Jumu’ah), weekly study circles (halaqah), Ramadan iftars, and the everyday work of looking out for one another far from home. MSA carries that tradition forward today as a registered student organization at Michigan Tech.
Open to Everyone
Per Article III.A of our constitution, MSA does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, height, weight, or marital status, and is committed to not discriminating against disabled individuals or veterans. All Michigan Tech students can be regular members, Michigan Tech faculty and staff can be associate members, and families, students from outside Michigan Tech and local residents can be honorary members. Everyone is welcome at our events.
A Registered 501(c)(3)
MSA at Michigan Tech is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Gifts to MSA are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Our constitution, financial statements, and meeting minutes are available on request and through our documents page.
Our Story
faith kept alive in the far north
For more than thirty-five years, the Muslim community at Michigan Tech has gathered to pray, learn, and care for one another in one of the most isolated corners of Muslim America, more than 300 miles from the nearest city with a large Muslim population. Here are a few moments along the way.
1989 Founded by students
A group of Muslim students founded the MSA at Michigan Technological University. The first committee helped Muslim students and their families settle in. Daily prayers, Jumu’ah, Ramadan iftars and Taraweeh all began in those early years and continue today.
1997 Back, and here to stay
When the first committee graduated, the MSA went quiet for a short while. In 1997 a new group of students brought it back, and it soon became known on campus as an active student organization.
2010 Prayers in Wadsworth Hall
By 2010, the midday and afternoon prayers and Jumu’ah were held in a room in Wadsworth Hall, right on campus.
2010 A Seminar on Islam
On Friday, November 5, 2010, the MSA hosted a 50-minute talk on the basics of Islam in Fisher Hall. No sign-up was needed: anyone curious could walk in. We still open our doors this way at Faith Fair and Ramadan Awareness Day.
2026 A registered 501(c)(3)
Since February 20, 2026, the IRS has recognized the MSA as an independent 501(c)(3) public charity. In the 2025 to 2026 school year, the community also renewed the MSA Community Center, our masjid, with new carpet, a sound system, TVs, new furniture and an expanded library.
Our community today
about 200
people in our community: students, faculty and families
80+
active members in the 2025 to 2026 school year
about 75
people at our weekly gatherings, on average, in 2025 to 2026
More than thirty-five years of faith in the far north, and a community still growing.
MSA in the news
- Muslim Student Association at Michigan Tech connects students with the wider Copper Country community The Keweenaw Report, September 18, 2026
- Breakwater Federal Credit Union holds financial education workshop for MTU students TV6 (WLUC), October 8, 2026
- Breakwater Federal Credit Union creates partnership to bring financial literacy programming to international students The Keweenaw Report, September 3, 2026
- Celebrating Ramadan: community gathers in Calumet The Daily Mining Gazette, March 20, 2026
Thank you to our partners
Our programs are possible because of these organizations, on campus and across the Keweenaw.
- Keweenaw Community Foundation
- Michigan Tech Student Leadership & Involvement
- Michigan Tech International Programs & Services
- Breakwater Federal Credit Union
- Keweenaw Storytelling Center
- Portage Lake District Library
Your MSA board
MSA is entirely student-led. Each spring, regular members elect the four Executive Committee office bearers; the new board then appoints the Associate Committee and the faculty advisor (constitution Article IV). Terms run for one year, beginning in the summer semester. If you have a question, reach out to whoever’s role fits best. We’re glad to hear from you.
Executive Committee
Elected by the membership each spring. The four office bearers who steer MSA day to day.
President
Bassam Abdelghani
Leads the board and presides over all meetings.
Vice President
Anwar Mohammed
Stands in for the President and represents associate and honorary members.
Treasurer
Muhammad Bilal Umar
Manages MSA’s funds and records.
General Secretary
Sanan Appapillai
Coordinates activities and documentation, and calls meetings.
Faculty Advisor
A Michigan Tech faculty member who supports the board and connects MSA with the university.
Faculty Advisor
Ashraf Saleem
Assistant Professor of Applied Computing and co-director of the BS in Mechatronics at Michigan Tech. Dr. Saleem leads the Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab, where his research brings together robotics, remote sensing and AI, from clearer underwater images to spotting oil spills with drones. He earned his PhD in mechatronics engineering at De Montfort University in the UK.
Want to get involved? MTU students can join MSA on Involvement Link for free, and anyone is welcome to volunteer alongside the board. Say salaam on our contact page.