Dana Scott / Winonan

Since the Islamic Center in downtown Winona burned down on Sept. 13, 2013, many students and community members have gone to great efforts to get a new Islamic Center in Winona. Three years later, a new Islamic Center sits one block away from where the old building once stood.

One of the many individuals who put in time and effort to make this happen is Waheed Khan, a Winona State University student and vice president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA).

Khan was born in Pakistan, moved to Canada and then came to Winona for college. What drew Khan to Winona State was the size of the college, the community, the nature and the cost of living.

Khan is a computer science major with aspirations to work in programing. Along with being the vice president of MSA, Khan is also the president of the computer science club, involved in international club and works for the IT department.

Khan expressed it can be difficult to balance his many commitments, but believes it will pay off because leadership skills are very important.

MSA is not just for Muslim students, but for anyone who is interested in or wants to gain knowledge about Muslim culture.

Khan and the other board members of MSA meet once every two weeks to brainstorm, and are currently discussing what they think will be best to cover. In the future, they hope to bring speakers to campus and attend conferences.

MSA has worked closely with the Islamic Center in Winona, especially in efforts to fundraise for a new center. The Islamic Center, just like MSA, is open to anyone to discuss and learn. They have a goal to welcome anyone.

Over the summer, the Islamic Center celebrated Ramadan by having both international students and community members welcome to break the fast at their center.

Despite finally having a new location, there is still fundraising to be done. The most recent effort was a fundraising dinner sponsored by MSA.

The fundraiser dinner took place on Friday, Aug. 26 at the First Congregational Church, serving curried chicken, lentils, rice and dessert.

The event was made possible by MSA members and Winona State students who volunteered, sold tickets and put in hard work, time and effort.

The event was also made possible by community support. Khan expressed he and the rest of MSA really appreciate the help from the First Congregational Church and the community as a whole for showing support and being so helpful.

“The event went really well,” Khan said. “Even those who are not Muslim are supporting us, two religions having the same goal. I’d like to thank every person who showed up and supported us.”

Khan has not had this kind of support in any other city he has lived in, and he has learned a lot being here and putting on events such as the dinner fundraiser.

Khan said many members of the community attended the event and want to learn and ask questions about Muslim culture.

“It feels great,” Khan said. “It shows people know what is going on and are doing research, not just believing what they see in the media.”

Overall, Khan would like to highlight if anyone has any questions about MSA, they are welcome to contact or go to the Islamic Center, attend one of the MSA meetings or speak with one of its members.

-By Dana Scott