The Muslim Graduate Student Group creates a safe space where Masters and PhD students from various academic and religious backgrounds can engage in meaningful intellectual discourse without compromising their religious beliefs. The Graduate Student Group offers these students opportunities to improve and debate their research and prepare them for future careers. This development means that in the next several years, more and more Americans will be learning about Islam from a range of Muslim experts and scholars.
Aziza Gaouda is passionate about food, nature and bringing people together. She wants to live in a world where all the awkwardness from a first-time encounter is gone. Aziza carries a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering and is finishing up her Masters in Urban Planning at NYU Wagner. She is the President of the Muslim Graduate Student Group (MGSG) and will be providing support to the Assistant Director at the ICNYU throughout the year. If she isn’t out on hikes, you can find her eating knafeh at her favourite restaurant, Tanoreen, or chilling at the IC.
Shatha Muhsineh [Co-Vice President] is a first-year graduate student at the College of Global Public Health. She moved from the UAE to NYC six months ago and found comfort in connecting with the MGSG and IC communities. By being a board member, Shatha aims to get to help more people find the comfort she's found and to meet more beautiful souls with diverse experiences. Her background in nutrition makes her the food checker almost all the time, so watch out if you are eating when she is around! She is a lover of nature and sports.
Saad Hasan [Co-Vice President] is currently a first-year dental student at the dental school. I was born in Fremont, California but I have spent a majority of my life in Dallas, Texas. Contrary to popular belief, Dallas is a beautiful place with some of the country's greatest people alhamdulillah, although I may be a little biased. There is no denying that a few of our nation's well-known Islamic Scholars and I was truly blessed to learn from many of them. With the mercy of Allah (swt), my twin brother and I were honoured to deliver the Friday khutbah at various masajid in the Dallas area as well as host a weekly Radio show for the past 4 years. If I ever have spare time, I enjoy making fun and comical videos, like this one that my brother and I won second place at the 2016 Texas MSA Showdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEuvtT9qQqk. I am also extremely passionate about service work and was afforded opportunities to lead groups of volunteers to serve communities in the Dominican Republic, Morocco, and Peru. I look forward to building a close relationship with all of you so please do not hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything!
Talal Ahmad [Treasurer] is a computer scientist pursuing his PhD at NYU's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Witty, prudent and insightful at (different) times, Talal considers his love affair with procrastination to be his biggest challenge to reach his full potential.
Aicha Haider [Co-Secretary] is a second-year grad student in the Occupational Therapy MS program at NYU. I am 26 years old and I come from a diverse background. My mother is from Guatemala and part French, and my father is from Pakistan. In my family, we grew up speaking Spanish, but I know very little Urdu. I am excited and eager to complete my last semester of classes before I begin my clinical rotations! I don't have much time for leisure, but when I do I enjoy going out for drives, exploring, and group activities with friends and family. I am also a big traveller and have been to many countries.
Ayyanah Shahryar [Co-Secretary] is currently pursuing her MA in Industrial Organizational Psychology at GSAS. I attended NYU for undergrad (CAS Class of 2016). I moved to Stuy Town in August. My family is from Pakistan, but I was born in Chicago and bred in New Jersey. I go back for home cooked food and family parties. (I bring some of that food back...for you homesick kids, hit me up!) I enjoy exploring NYC (restaurants, museums, movie theatres, parks, boroughs) and talking and laughing with people (family, friends, kids, random strangers, acquaintances-I don't discriminate). I have always wanted to be more involved in the IC as an undergrad and I'm excited to have the opportunity now, Insha'Allah.
Waqid Munawar [Communications Director] was born in India and brought up in Oman, I am a computer scientist by major, optimist by nature, traveller at heart and have a sweet tooth by design. I'm inherently calm and perpetually smiling unless I've skipped my morning tea. When I am not coding or ideating, you'll find me wandering the streets of NYC or frequenting the IC.