During the first weekend of April, members of our MSA (Muslim Student Association) club attended and competed at the annual Muslims Interscholastic Tournament (MIST), where students from different high schools around New York City come to Hofstra University and compete in dozens of different competitions.
Our students coordinated outfits, screamed their Cardozo chant, raised money for humanitarian projects, and so much more. Accompanied by their coaches, the students won several awards and had an amazing experience they’d like to share.
One of the awards that the Cardozo MSA club is especially proud of is the Brothers Nasheed, which Tafheem Miah, Shadman Alam, and Zeeshan Jamal competed in as a group. A nasheed is an Islamic song that consists of vocal music, sung to praise God, the Prophet Muhammad, and/or Muslim values.
Jamal expressed how he felt when he realized he and his group won, stating, “All I remember feeling was shock. I mean, I didn’t think a team that was competing for the first time in this competition was capable of accomplishing something like this.”
The group won first place out of all the schools that competed, officially earning our school a place in the Nationals competition for MIST. At the Awards Ceremony on Apr. 12, the three of them performed the nasheed and were cheered on by the rest of their team in the crowd.
One of the most remarkable moments during the competition weekend was when Malak Abaroui participated in the Spoken Word competition. After several performances with snaps as an applause, as per the rule, Abaroui delivered her spoken word and received the first roaring applause as spectators gave in to their urge to break the rule, in order to praise her for the astounding performance.
For the second year in a row, in the same competition, Abaroui won second place. She received a trophy, accompanied by her team’s tumultuous applause with screams, chanting “D-O-Z-O, Let’s go, ‘Dozo!” and clappers, passed down from the board of last year. She hopes to get first place in this competition next year, in her last year competing.
Abaroui recalled the moment, “Even though, like, everyone was saying that it was a big possibility, it still came as a shock.”
MSA’s president, Nabiha Subaita, shared her experience in leading her team this year. “Our team was able to bring home some awards, and I’m very proud and glad that all of their hard work was rewarded,” she said. “I definitely think I’ll return as a coach or organizer next year, inshallah [God willing].”
Every year, two coaches are required to accompany the group: one for the girls and one for the boys. This year, Afshana Hoque coached the girls in the team this year, and cared for them beyond what being a coach required. After day one of the two-day competition weekend, she took a group of the girls to the Qawah House in Westbury Long Island. She continued to engage with the team, and be active in spectating competitions and guiding the girls during the rest of the two-day event.
To show their gratitude, the board of MSA planned gift baskets for her, as well as the coach for the boys, Adam Khoukhi. Members of the board, Nafisa Rahman, Syeda Hussain, Fatima Mukhtar, and Nabiha Subaita, made stops at Burlington and Lidl Food Market in Glen Oaks Shopping Center to collect and assemble the gift.
Meanwhile, other members on the board, Zeeshan Jamal and Hasan Haider, additionally planned in order to complete the baskets. Both the coaches were gifted matching minion mugs, as part of their gift baskets. The coaches were surprised on the day of the Awards Ceremony, a heartwarming moment for everyone involved. Hoque was overwhelmed by the gift, and Khoukhi invited the boys for a group hug at the sight of the gift.
Another memorable part of this event was seeing the former MSA President Noora Nizar of the 2022-2023 school year, returning to MIST. This year, Nizar returned to the event as an organizer, and photographer after her time as a competitor when she was attending Cardozo High School.
Syeda Hussain shared her experience on reuniting with the former president, “When we found her, the nostalgia of MSA and MIST when she was president came back. MIST will never be like what it was when she was president.”
Nizar now attends Columbia University and plans to continue returning to MIST when she is available, and hold on to her MSA merch, always remembering her involvement and contributions to MSA.
One award our school won as a Spirit Award was “Cleanup Crew,” an award that we’ve never won in previous years. Additionally, MIST separated schools into different groups, known as houses, and each house had to earn spirit points in different ways to win an additional award. Our school was placed in the Baytul-Sabr house, and after two days of various people from different schools trying their best to earn spirit points, Baytul-Sabr won the most spirit points, and won the competition, giving our team an additional award to bring home.
This year’s MIST concluded with some great accomplishments from our school’s team, with several awards in different categories, and with the chance that our team will move on to Nationals. MIST is inclusive to non-Muslims, as well. One of the members from Cardozo’s MSA came to MIST and competed in competitions as a non-Muslim, and it also happened with teams from other schools. So, our MSA leaves you with one request: “Come to MIST before the mist leaves you.” (MSA 2024-2025).
