What is COMPASS?
COMPASS is MSA National's state-of-the-art management training program. Designed to address the growing demand for management training programs from campus organizations, COMPASS strives to offer Muslim students the skills, tools, and resources they need to best serve their communities.
Mission
To train Muslim students to manage highly effective campus organizations, and to serve their campus community with dedication and excellence.
Values
The COMPASS training philosophy is rooted in the guiding principles of MSA National:
- Sincerity is the foundation of our existence
- Knowledge precedes our actions
- Humility guides our conduct
- Truthfulness is the mark of our speech
- Moderation is the compass for our journey
- Tolerance is the banner of our outreach
- Forgiveness precedes our reconciliatory efforts
- Patience is the hallmark of our planning
- Gratitude binds our hearts together
MSA National's Mission
- MSA National serves students through facilitating their efforts to establish, maintain and develop chapters of Muslim Student Associations, Unions, Organizations, and Islamic Societies.
- Emphasis is placed on a dual-focus on the well-being of the individual Muslim student as well as the chapter through sponsorship of educational programs and community service opportunities, through offering students chances to learn, network and grow at zonal and annual conferences, as well as through management training programs.
- As a broad platform for students from all backgrounds, MSA National works with all organizations whose agenda includes a special focus on students and issues of concern to them during their college career.
- MSA National strives to inform and mobilize students to respond to crises in the United States and around the world through calls for action, and by co-sponsoring rallies, protests, letter writing and fundraising campaigns, telephone call-ins, and speaking tours with other organizations.
Value Proposition
- Experienced and knowledgeable trainers with an informed & connected perspective.
- Training programs tailored to the needs of Muslim campus leaders.
- Applicable concepts/ideas based on over 50 years of campus organization experience.
The Evolution of COMPASS
Written By Omaira Alam
Assessing the Needs, Filling the Void
Since the inception of MSA National in 1963, priority has been given to training Muslim students on how to effectively manage their Muslim Student Associations (MSAs), Islamic Societies, and Muslim Student Unions. Over the past 40 years a number of publications, articles and programs have emerged, most noticeably and widely accepted, "The Training Guide for Islamic Workers" by Dr Hisham Al Talib; a mainstay of every MSA library. After a lull of about fifteen years following the formation of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a resurgence in the early 1990s of MSA chapters throughout the US and Canada, compelled the new generation of MSA workers to, again, begin the process of leadership training, member motivating, and overall chapter management.
In 1997, a group of Muslim students met in Villanova, Pennsylvania and began the discussion of how to make MSAs better. This gathering was the MSA Core Training Program, otherwise known as McTiP. The Muslim students - highly active members of their local campus communities - who participated in this program were invited by MSA National to help forge the next 10 years of leadership training. The key areas of discussion were leadership, communication, conflict resolution, and chapter management. From this came the inspiration for Leadership Training Programs (LTPs). Throughout the United States and Canada, LTPs were held over the summer months for incoming MSA executive officers and active members recognized by their local chapter executive committees. These LTPs were conducted by former MSA executive members with the assistance of MSA National. The philosophy behind the LTPs was to prepare MSA executive officers with the necessary tools to become the leaders of tomorrow.
Emerging Priorities: A New Philosophy
In early 2000, a reordering of priorities and recognition of the behind-the-scene workers transformed the Leadership Training Programs into Worker Training Programs or WTPs. This new philosophy emerged with the realization that much of the MSA chapter work was - and continues to be - done with the assistance and resolve of a core group of dedicated volunteers and workers who hold no position on their MSA executive committees. In addition to this, it was a further acknowledgement of the reality of the future whereby most students may not be leaders, but hopefully, active and engaged members of their communities: "Today's Students, Tomorrow's Community."
A New Formula, a New Mission
At that time however, WTPs, although part of the MSA National framework, lacked the cohesive element that allowed them to be a systematic management and training program that would move MSAs to the next level. In the winter of 2003, the executive committee of MSA National approved an idea, spearheaded by the then President, Br Altaf Husain (CWRU and Howard University) and Vice President (Task Forces), Sr Sarah Attia (University of Toronto), to formalize the training efforts aimed at current MSA workers (WTPs) and former MSA workers who would return as trainers (to later become the Train-the-Trainer Program or TTP). Under the leadership of Br Idris El-Bakri (University of Michigan - Ann Arbor) in 2004, the WTPs were considered as part of the training division of the Education and Training Task Force (ETTF) of MSA National. As the then Vice-Chair of ETTF, with a very talented and dedicated team, Br Idris helped formulate the new agenda for training among MSAs. None of this could have been done without the dedication and brilliance of Br Amin Venjara, a graduate of the Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania), and the lead coordinator of MSA National's Strategic Planning meeting in June, 2004.
In the summer of 2005, in Toronto, the training division of the ETTF laid the groundwork for the development of a highly effective and systematic management training program; the end result was COMPASS. Moving out from under the ETTF allowed COMPASS to emerge as a key player in the development of MSA chapters across North America. Foundational to its ethos are the concepts of organization, management, excellence, experience, direction, and most importantly, training.
A Critical Mass
COMPASS recognized the need for continued growth of MSA chapters with respect to training and development. In addition to this, there was an acknowledgement that excellent MSA workers could be excellent members of any student organization. Therefore, the focus of COMPASS would not be only MSAs, but individual Muslim students who could contribute in a larger capacity to their greater campus community. Finally, there was a realization that a critical mass of MSA workers must come forward who can then pass on the knowledge of previous executive members and workers. The concept of TTPs or Train-the-Trainer Programs formally emerged.
These MSA workers would have distinguished themselves as dedicated individuals both on and off campus, in their larger communities, as part of the MSA National framework, and finally, as MSA Alumni who are able to dedicate the time and have the desire to pass on the knowledge and experience that they are blessed to have. Who better to train incoming MSA executives and workers than former MSA executives and workers? In March 2006, COMPASS graduated its first class of trainers with the assistance of faculty member, Dr. Hatem Bazian (University of California - Berkeley). This spring COMPASS will have its second TTP, inshaAllah.
Excellence, Dedication and Continued Service
Designed to address the continued demand for management training programs for campus organizations, COMPASS hopes to offer Muslim students a full range of the skills, the tools, and the resources they need to best serve their communities. This will be done under the precepts of informed and connected perspectives, experienced and knowledgeable trainers, and applicable concepts and ideas under the banner of MSA National.
The People
COMPASS Faculty
Dr Hatem Bazian
COMPASS Staff
Br Idris Elbakri, Chair
Idris completed his B.S. and M.S. at Brigham Young University (BYU) and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, all in Electrical Engineering and is currently a medical physicist and assistant professor of radiology at the University of Manitoba. At BYU, he served two terms as MSA chapter vice-president; at University of Michigan he served again as MSA president, and graduate student representative to the Michigan Student Assembly; and vice-president of the Islamic Center of Ann Arbor. After finishing his Ph.D. in 2003, he joined MSA National as the vice-chair of the Education and Training Task Force. In that capacity, he participated as facilitator and trainer of MSA National's 2004 Strategic Planning Meeting. He currently serves as the Chair of COMPASS, MSA National's management training program. Idris is a certified workshop facilitator and is a guest khateeb at the Winnipeg Central Mosque. He resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with his wife and two daughters.
Br Altaf Husain, Member
Altaf Husain has a PhD from the Howard University School of Social Work, focusing on Muslim immigrant and refugee adaptation in the United States. He is a double alumnus of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Social Work, respectively. Altaf is a board member of the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA) and Islamic Social Services Association of the US and Canada (ISSA). He is also a licensed social worker in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
He has served Vice President - US (1997-1999) and two terms as President (1999-2001, 2001-2003) MSA National. He has also served on the Board of Advisers of MSA National and is a staff member of COMPASS, the MSA National Training Program. He currently resides in northern Virginia with his wife and two sons.
Sr Omaira Alam, Member
Born in Scotland, raised in Toronto, Canada, Omaira has been teaching for almost 10 years in public, private, and Muslim schools. She graduated with a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto with a double major in Neuroscience and World History. She then went on to the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, an affiliate of U of Toronto, for her Bachelors in Education. After a brief sojourn to Egypt, she moved to Virginia to complete her Masters in Transition Special Education at the George Washington University, specializing in secondary students with emotional and learning disabilities. She previously served as the Vice President-Canada (1999-2001) and the Exofficio (2001-2003) of MSA National. Omaira currently serves as the chair of the Board of Advisors and is a staff member of COMPASS, MSA National's training program. She has recently returned to Toronto, Canada to continue as an education advisor, teacher trainer and teacher in the public school sector.
Sr Zainab Khan, Member
Zainab Khan is currently a student and research assistant at the University of Ottawa in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Before her involvement with MSA National, Zainab served the Muslim Youth of Ottawa and the MSA at the University of Ottawa in various capacities. In 2005, she began working with MSA National and served as the Vice President Canada as well as Director of the Task Forces for the duration of two consecutive terms, from 2005-2007. In addition to being a staff member of COMPASS, she is also the Chair of the Media and Communication Task Force of MSA National.
COMPASS Trainers
Sr Atifa Chiragh, Trainer
Atifa Chiragh was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She graduated with her Bachelor's degree in Marketing and an MBA in Management Information Systems both from Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico. She currently works at Honeywell International as a Systems Integration Analyst. Atifa has served as president, advisor and vice president of the MSA at UNM. Prior to joining COMPASS, Atifa was an active member of the Programs Task Force (2000 to 2005) and served as the program chair for the MSA Continental Conference in 2004.
Br Farhan Latif, Trainer
Farhan Latif is a Strategic Enrollment Manager at his alma mater, the University of Michigan-Dearborn. In his current role, he directs territory management, admissions and orientation for Oakland County and the alumni recruitment programs. As a student, Farhan served as president of three campus organizations: Student Government, the MSA, and Students United for Peace & Justice. Farhan also served as the Chair of the MSA Regional Council of Michigan for two years, Vice President of the Student Council, and Director of Recruitment for Phi Theta Kappa at Henry Ford Community College. Among his many accomplishments as a student leader, he founded "Unity in Diversity," an annual interfaith gathering of community members from across the Metro-Detroit region. His efforts to build the UM-D MSA are featured in "Mecca and Mainstreet," a recently published book by author Genieve Abdo. He now serves as adviser to the MSA. It is these sets of skills that Farhan brings to his position as trainer for COMPASS, MSA National's management training program.
Farhan is also the CEO of Strategic Inspirations LLC, and marketing and consulting firm for the development of Non Profits. Farhan has a Bachelors in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and is pursing his Masters at the University of Michigan in Public Administration with a focus on Non Profit Leadership.
Br Mohamed Shiliwala, Trainer
Mohamed Shiliwala, Esq. is a transactional attorney practicing in Real Estate, Trademark and Corporate Law in the Newark office of K&L Gates. Mohamed also serves as a Board Member for the Association of Muslim American Lawyers (AMAL) and has organized events on topics including Guantanamo detention, immigration law, and Islamic Private Equity. Mohamed brings his specialized experience in communicating with campus administrations, developing creative events with diverse member participation, and easing tensions within an organization and between organizations, to his work as a trainer for COMPASS, MSA National's state-of-the-art management training program. Mohamed graduated cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2007 and as a Ben Franklin Scholar from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003 with a double major in biology and biological basis of behavior. While in school Mohamed served as President of the Seton Hall Law MSA, Senator in the Student Bar Association, and Executive Board Member of the UPenn MSA. He lives with his wife in NJ.
Br Moustafa Badreldin, Trainer
Moustafa Badreldin was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He attended Al-Ghazaly High school and went on to study at Rutgers University, where was an active member of the MSA all four years on campus. He served as President for two years and was onsite chair of the 2003 MSA East Zone Conference and a Life Fundraiser for Palestine that raised over $300,000. In addition to Moustafa's involvement as a COMPASS trainer, he also coordinates the AlMaghrib institute seminars hosted in NJ and serves on the MAS Youth of NJ e-board. Currently, Moustafa works as a paralegal for McDermott, Will & Emery.