On Sunday, April 17, 2016, Saint Xavier’s Muslim Student Association organized its third annual men’s basketball tournament at the Shannon Center from 9 am to 5 pm. The purpose of the tournament was to raise funds to build a water well with the Zakat Foundation, which is an international charity dedicated to providing immediate needs to impoverished communities.
The event was open to the community with tickets priced at $3 per spectator and $25 per player. There were a total of 14 teams with 5 players ages from 18 to 29 years old. A trophy and medals were awarded for the first-place winning team, and medals for the second-place team.
Raffles were also conducted, awarding a variety of sports gear. In an interview, Hadeel Abderrhaman, co-president of MSA, explained that the Zakat Foundation initially contacted MSA for help in their campaign Bundle Up for the Winter, dedicated to provide clothes and blankets to refugees in the country.
However, after MSA did more research, they discovered many programs offered by the Zakat Foundation helping a variety of causes. “We heard about their Water Well project and it just clicked. The thought of building a well for a community in need of clean water to have for generations got all of us so excited and we knew that this was the project we wanted to help out,” said Abderrhaman.
The tournament reached MSA’s goal by collecting over $3000 in funds. Abderrhaman appreciates the help of everyone who contributed at the event. “Every single member of MSA, our volunteers, refs, scorekeepers, and even the players who registered; all played an important part and we wouldn’t have been able to reach our goal without the help of all of them. The workers at the Shannon Center, as well, were so supportive with renting us the courts and making sure we had everything we needed,” Abderrhaman said.
The water well will be built in a community with no access to clean water located in Africa. Abderrhaman believes that the well will be a support to both MSA’s and SXU’s name. What she liked the most about the tournament was how it brought people together determined to accomplish their goal of helping provide clean water to the community in Africa.
“It’s so incredible that our MSA at SXU was able to help out an underprivileged community all the way in Africa . . . Working with my MSA is always a great time and, being a senior, I will definitely miss playing a big role in these tournaments, but I’m confident that next year, MSA will host yet again an amazing tournament, and I definitely look forward to attending and seeing what an incredible job they will do,” she added.
Abderrhaman hopes MSA impacted the SXU community positively by demonstrating that a difference can be made. “I think we all take for granted, to some degree, what we have. I hope we were able to show that we should all be a little more grateful and that we should all try to give back a little more as well. Not just to our SXU community, but to wherever we can. Get involved, get thinking, even if it’s just an idea, with a little heart and determination, anything is possible, and in doing so, SXU can give back to not only their community, but communities all over,” said Abderrhaman.
Three years ago, MSA began hosting annual basketball tournaments to raise funds for an organization. In an interview with The Xavierite, Nour Ahmad, treasurer of MSA, explained how the tradition of holding the event every year emerged.
“The idea of the MSA basketball tournament originated 3 years ago, after MSA’s board members decided that a charity (which is a pillar of faith for Muslims) was an important goal that we, as an organization, should focus on. It was the president at that time, Mariam Ahmad, who facilitated and orchestrated the idea of a charity basketball tournament,” said Ahmad.
The first year’s tournament was held at the Oak Lawn Pavilion and raised approximately $1000 for UNICEF, an organization that provides assistance to children in developing countries. The second year’s tournament was held at the Shannon Center and over $2000 was raised for the Cure it Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting pediatric cancer.
For Ahmad, it was convenient to host the event on campus. She also appreciated the help of all the members, volunteers and also workers of the Shannon Center (including Blake, Sarah Witek and Jen) who helped MSA make the event happen.
“The best part about hosting the event on campus is convenience and having other students, especially workers of the Shannon Center. . . I enjoyed that everyone who came out was there for a common goal and that was for charity. I enjoyed that everyone is willing to help each other out, especially all the members of MSA in order to host a phenomenal event,” said Ahmad.
Ahmad hopes that the future SXU MSA’s continue to host annual fundraisers in order to help different organizations.
“We hope that this legacy continues on annually [and] fundraises for other organizations and spreads awareness about the importance that Islam and Muslims hold on charity,” says Ahmad. For more information about MSA and their future events you may contact and follow them on Facebook and Twitter as MSA SXU.
Miryam Villarreal
News Editor
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