Our school has a wide variety of orthodox societies; such as the MUN society, the literary society, the science society, and the media society to name a few. These societies are astoundingly good at nourishing the minds and the intellect of the students; but there is a need for an additional society, a society revolving around a critical aspect of our lives. The society being discussed is not unheard of — other prominent institutions (such as LUMS, Aitchison, etc) already have this society established. The society in question is the Islamic Society.

This society is necessary since the students, and our society on a broader scale, are shockingly lacking in faith. We have been taught to recite Hz Musa’s prayer “O my Lord, increase me in knowledge” from Surah Taha since our childhood, yet so many of us have forgotten who our Lord is.

The discipline problems facing our school are numerous. Students often skip classes, deliberately and insultingly disobey teachers and administrators, use swear words and engage in wrongful and sinful activities that are not worthy of praise or even mention.

We can continue our efforts to eradicate these problems, efforts which have had limited impact over the years; or we can take a step back and think more deeply about the problems that face us and analyse history to understand how the problems have been dealt with by the bygone generations.

Think about it. Problems that were way worse than the problems currently facing us were rife in Arabia before Islam came and became victorious. Evil was vanquished; the golden age of Islam characterised by justice and progress began.

Islam, nowadays seen as a backward religion, spearheaded the discoveries, the scientific method and the scholarly framework upon which the modern era is based; with its scholars like Al Khawarezmi introducing algebra, Ibn Sahl discovering what’s referred to as “Snell’s Law”, Ibn Sina writing a book on medicine that served as the main textbook in European universities for centuries, and al-Biruni calculating the Earth’s radius to within 1% of its true value.

In a sense, the Renaissance in Europe happened due to the Muslims; and thus the Enlightenment, the Scientific Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the world we have today are predicated on the contributions of the Muslims. While discussing this golden era, people tend to forget the factor that led to it: Islam.

It had not been an easy victory. Twenty three years of unparalleled dedication and commitment were required. The Muslims had to bear unbearable persecution before they could surmount the insurmountable challenges. For instance, the Muslims had to endure a boycott for three years during which they were forced to feed on the roots of trees. The Muslims had to face their enemies while being vastly outnumbered, yet they did not falter. Because of their faith. Because of their conviction in the veracity of Islam.

The society that we wish to establish will be founded on the principles of Islam; which include equality, fairness, tolerance of different beliefs, and kindness, all aspects which a 21st century Muslim should be an exemplary example of. Furthermore, this initiative will benefit everyone in this school by promoting uprightness of character, good habits and integrity, all the while refining the qualities that make our students “grammarians”.

Even people who are not Muslims by belief are free to join if they wish and extraordinary care will be taken to assure that no discrimination based on religion, sect or caste happens. To this effect, we will focus solely on the aspects that unite us as Muslims in between sects, rather than talk about our differences; and our society’s supervisor, Ms S, will oversee all sessions and will make sure we remain true to this course of action.

The idea of having this society has already mustered significant support from students and teachers (Ms. S, Ms. S, Sir M and Sir N to name a few) alike.

What the society will aim to do is to rekindle the fire of faith among the students, the same faith which allowed the early Muslims to bear unbearable persecution and surmount insurmountable challenges.

Most people never give second thought to Islam and stereotype it as limited to physical and verbal worship. Therefore, the society will seek to raise awareness about Islam; its core principles, what makes it the true religion, its history and its contributions to the world. In addition, we will seek to highlight the plight of Palestinians, Uighurs, Kashmiris, Sudanis, Rohingyas, and even non-Muslims since Islam is about protecting all those who are oppressed, not just your own brethren.

Moreover, we have planned a list of daily/weekly activities and events for society members and anyone else who may wish to join, such as:

• Study groups
• Debates
• Open Q&A sessions
• Speeches
• Quizzes
• Competitions

and many more to come in the future InshaAllah. Furthermore, we will aim to establish a small prayer station in the school for everyone — students and teachers alike — to offer the prayer on time and possibly in congregation. The members will try their best to donate books related to Islam, its teachings, its history and its contributions. Lastly, we will create an open source knowledge repository consisting of all sorts of resources for all to access, InshaAllah. There are many other ideas that we have in mind, which we will not list here in order to keep the text short and readable.

For the leadership roles of our society, we have gotten the approval of some of our teachers to have Mr. MZ from AS as the President, Mr. MU from AS as Vice President, and Mr. MA from 11C as Secretary General. Even if we can muster five or six active members and spark a positive change in their personalities; that is to say five or six less people who will backbite, lie, disobey elders, cheat; and five or six more people who will know their history, who they are, and their purpose in life is.

We have full faith that you will give us the support and the tools to make this idea a reality.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. (Margaret Mead)