First professional Muslim sorority inspires change and diversity
It’s a Sunday night and a small group of girls gather on the second floor of the University Union. While the rest of the campus is quiet in preparations for the upcoming week, this group buzzes with excitement at the prospect of their futures. Mu Delta Alpha, which stands for Muslimahs for Change, is the first professional sorority in the United States, founded in 2016 at the University of Texas at Dallas. Now in its sophomore year, Mu Delta Alpha has officially begun a new chapter at North Texas.
“It has been my dream to continue spreading our message to other institutions and to see it happening is truly unbelievable,” founder of Mu Delta Alpha Samira Maddox said.
Maddox’s dream began while attending Collin Community College and looking at other Greek organizations and being unable to find a place that she belonged to. It was then that she gathered a few of her friends that shared the same sentiments and Mu Delta Alpha was born.
“I think her [Samira] ambition is admirable and I know that we want to contribute to her goal as much as possible,” president of UNT’s chapter Moniba Ijazi said.
Amongst the professional aspect and sisterhood embodiment of the organization, it’s also built upon the basic principles of Islam — enjoining hands with other people and having open arms to accept people of all backgrounds, with membership open to all females, not only Muslims.
“I love how girls who are studying different things and have different cultural backgrounds can just come together and be able to relate, I love that a lot,” secretary of UNT’s chapter Abida Shoukat said.
Stigmas surrounding sororities and Greek life have been some major criticisms of the organization, as some say it clashes with Islamic ideals of conservatism. But Ijazi said that that the sorority is working to get rid of those misconceptions by being very traditional.
“We want to go back to the basics by being what sororities are meant for, and that is a safe place for girls to come together and grow together,” Ijazi said.
The sorority also advocates for self-development from a young age by holding an annual youth summit, which will be held in Spring 2018. Last year, over 150 youths registered and more is expected for the next.
“Inspiring the next generation is also our call to action,” Maddox said. “We have to be the ones to pave the way so the ones coming up won’t have any issues and be able to find themselves.”
A few examples of the bright,
