The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) is a national

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

aimed at supporting and representing Islamic societies at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland. FOSIS was established in 1963 and is one of the oldest Muslim student organisations in the United Kingdom.

History

FOSIS was formed in July 1963 at a meeting held in the Cadbury Room at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

. At this meeting, representatives from different Islamic societies agreed to form a national body to look after the interests of Muslim students at universities. Founding members included Islamic societies from the University of Birmingham,

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, University of Dublin, Imperial College (London),

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, London Islamic Circle, Muslim Student Society UK,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

(London), Sheffield Islamic Circle, Wolverhampton Malayan Teachers College. At that time, the organisation was named FOISS (Federation of Islamic Student Societies) and it was renamed later that year to its current variation of FOSIS. In the early '60s, FOSIS was the only support group that many young Muslims in the UK and Ireland could look to for support and advice.

Activities

Islamic Circles

Over the years, FOSIS have hosted a number of high-profile Muslim speakers/scholars. Dating back to the early 1960s, FOSIS were one of the first groups in the UK to host

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

in 1964 (also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) on a speaking engagement. Since then, some of the world's most influential Islamic scholars and preachers such as

Ahmed Deedat Ahmed Husein Deedat ( gu, અહમદ હુસેન દીદત; ur, Arabic: احمد حسين ديدات), also known as Ahmed Deedat (1 July 1918 – 8 August 2005), was a self-taught Muslim thinker, author, and orator on Comparative ...

Khurram Murad Khurram Murad (3 November 1932 – 19 December 1996) was a Pakistani scholar of Islam. Career From 1975 to 1976, he was involved in the extension project of Masjid al-Haram in Mecca as he was a civil engineer by profession. During his time ...

and Imam Siraj Wahhaj have visited FOSIS to address Muslim students. This trend has continued over the years, with FOSIS making speaking engagements at universities part of their regular activities.

Committees

Islamic Societies

The aim of the Islamic Societies Coordinating Committee (ISCC) is to work with the regional committees to strengthen and support Islamic societies (ISocs). The committee comprises a number of members including the 7 regional committees (Ireland, London, Midlands, North, Scotland, South and, Wales & West) that work directly with the Islamic societies within their regions.

Media

As a national body for Muslim students, FOSIS is regularly asked to speak in different media avenues to express the view of Muslim students. The media team is responsible to respond to those requests and lead discussions on a variety of issues affecting Muslim students. Representatives of FOSIS have appeared on

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

and contributed articles for

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

newspaper under the

Comment is Free TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...

section.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Islamic organisations based in the United Kingdom Islamic organisations based in Ireland National Union of Students (United Kingdom) factions Islamic organizations established in 1963 Student religious organisations in the United Kingdom