Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA)
History and Alumni
The Penn Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA) was formed Spring 2004 by a group of first-year Muslim students seeking to create a support network for themselves and future prospective students. This was not the first such endeavor because prior to MLSA the Muslim Education and Cultural Association (MECA) had existed on Penn Law’s campus. MECA was the most immediate predecessor to MLSA and remained active during the duration of its existence on campus. They brought speakers and hosted various programs at Penn law and also worked within the community. One of their projects involved workshops during Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Celebrations discussing the issue of religious intolerance with high school students in Philadelphia. The program was designed to start interfaith dialogues between young adults from religious high schools in the area.
Penn Law has a long tradition of producing successful Muslim lawyers. Penn Law Muslim alumni work in a diverse range of arenas, from corporate firms to government agencies and NGOs. Some have taken their skills to work for corporate firms in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. Some of the most prominent Penn Law Muslim alumni are now members of legal academia. In particular, these include two Islamic law specialists: Azizah Al-Hibri and Khaled Abou El Fadl. Azizah Al-Hibri is currently Professor of International and Islamic law at the University of Richmond Law School. Khaled Abou El Fadl, in addition to being a widely published author on Islamic law, is a Professor of Law and The Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Fellow in Islamic Law at the University of California – Los Angeles and currently Visiting Professor at Yale University Law School.