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CalMSA April Newsletter
April Newsletter
Cal MSA
April 06, 2026
APRIL 2026
﷽
Asalaamu’ alaikum and welcome back to the Cal Muslim Student Association’s monthly newsletter! If you are new here, this is your one-stop scroll for events, reminders, resources, and reflections to keep your imaan strong and your calendar busy.
رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
Rabbī zidnī ʿilmā — My Lord, increase me in knowledge.
UPCOMING EVENTS
FRIDAY ON CAMPUS JUMMAH
RECAPS
MSA x OSAM IFTAR
MSA x MEMSSA x OSAM EID FESTIVAL
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
MSA ELECTIONS
Make sure to come to elections THIS FRIDAY, 7-9 PM to vote for the next MSA Board of 2026-2027! You must be an active member to vote, so make sure to fill out this form before the elections: 2026 Active Membership Form.
SAVE THE DATE: SENIOR COMMENCEMENT
GLOBAL MUSLIM NEWS
INTRODUCTION
As we come off the heels of the blessed month of Ramadan, it’s imperative to continue to recognize one of its central tenants – shukr (gratitude). Alhamdulillah, we have the immense privilege of obtaining an education, enjoying safety, and being surrounded by an uplifting community. It is a necessity to ensure that we utilize the blessings we’ve been given to contribute to the aid of our Ummah across the globe. Countless lives of our brothers and sisters have been claimed by oppressors abroad across the Muslim world, and millions more have been impacted by grief, displacement, loss, and affliction.
As stated by the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ),
“Whoever among you sees evil, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot do so, then with his tongue. If he cannot do so, then with his heart, which is the weakest level of faith.” [Sahih Muslim 49]
While we can only cover so much in this section of the newsletter, it is necessary to take action: do your own research, stay informed on current events and conflicts, engage through donating to humanitarian aid efforts, informing peers and loved ones, and asking Allah SWT to ease the suffering of our brothers and sisters being afflicted by war and oppression, and that Allah SWT carries out justice against the oppressors. Indeed, Allah SWT promises in Surah Ibrahim, Verse 14:
وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَـٰفِلًا عَمَّا يَعْمَلُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ ۚ إِنَّمَا يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ لِيَوْمٍۢ تَشْخَصُ فِيهِ ٱلْأَبْصَـٰرُ
ATTACK ON KABUL HOSPITAL KILLS HUNDREDS
On March 16, 2026, Pakistan carried out airstrikes on the Omid Drug Rehabilitation Center, a 2,000-bed treatment facility in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing at least 400 people and injuring more than 250, of which the majority of patients were seeking addiction treatment. Human Rights Watch found no evidence that the Omid center was being used for military purposes, making the attack unlawfully indiscriminate, and has characterized it as a possible war crime under international humanitarian law. The UN confirmed the complete destruction of one block of the hospital that housed adolescents receiving drug treatment, while the Taliban vowed retaliation. As families in Kabul continue searching hospitals and morgues for missing loved ones, we must remain vigilant against the normalization of such attacks on civilian infrastructure. Consider donating to Islamic Relief USA to support those affected.
LEBANON: DISPLACEMENT AT THE HANDS OF ZIONIST ATTACKS
As the Zionist entity continues its assault on southern Lebanon, leveling homes, destroying bridges, and establishing a so-called “security zone,” over one million have been forcibly displaced, and more than 1,300 have been killed and 4,000 injured since the current war began. There has been an absolutely devastating human cost with the occupation that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has suggested may be indefinite. Humanitarian workers warn of a looming long-term displacement crisis, with the displaced sleeping on streets and in cars around Beirut while aid funding remains critically insufficient to meet the scale of need.
Compounding the physical devastation, Israel has reportedly been pressuring Christian and Druze communities to reject displaced Shia Muslims seeking refuge, deliberately stoking sectarian tensions that have long fractured Lebanese society. The UN and multiple humanitarian organizations have documented municipalities actively discouraging residents from housing displaced people over fears of Hezbollah affiliation, which aid workers have warned is being engineered from the outside to fracture Lebanese solidarity from within. We must not allow the West’s media silence to normalize what is unfolding.
PALESTINE: ZIONIST APARTHEID LEGISLATION PASSED
One of the more recent (but certainly not the first) atrocities from the Zionist entity has been the passage of a law imposing the death penalty almost exclusively on Palestinians, drawing widespread international condemnation and has been described by human rights organizations as yet another codified instrument of apartheid. The law operates through Israel's military court system, which tries Palestinians in the West Bank at a conviction rate of 99.74%, while Israeli settlers who kill Palestinians are tried in civilian courts where, according to the rights group Yesh Din, only a mere 3% of cases have resulted in conviction. The UN has called for the law's immediate repeal, warning that “a death penalty regime that is discriminatory in purpose, design or effect is incompatible with the rights to life and equality before the law,” and both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned it as a deepening of Israel's apartheid system. The legislation carries an automatic death sentence for Palestinians with a 90-day execution timeline and severely restricted appeals, while Israeli settlers convicted of the same crimes retain the option of life imprisonment. “Israeli officials argue that imposing the death penalty is about security, but in reality, it entrenches discrimination and a two-tiered system of justice, both hallmarks of apartheid,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. At an institution like UC Berkeley, which was an epicenter of the anti-apartheid movement in the 80’s, this should sound all too familiar – we must continue to advocate for divestment from the Zionist entity, and as approximately 9,500 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, half without charge or trial, remain steadfast in our opposition to this accelerating system of subjugation.
Learn More Here:
CAMPUS RESOURCES
PRAYER SPOTS
Click on the image above for the location of all the prayer spots on/close to campus 🤲
LINKS
MSA
Mental Health Support
Muslim Mental Health Initiative (MMHI) - Sign up for free online and on-campus consultations
Bay Area Muslim Therapists - list of Muslim-identifying therapists in the Bay Area
Sudan - Donate
Palestine
