Among Michigan State’s 1,000 student organizations, Siham Abdallah-Hassan (PTCD ’23) noticed something missing: a space dedicated specifically to Muslim women.
“There was Muslim Student Association, Arab Student Association — but those tend to be dominated by men,” Abdallah-Hassan explained. “There just wasn’t any organization centered on Muslim women.”
In April 2025, Abdallah-Hassan founded Beta Kappa Mu, MSU’s first Muslim sorority for women, and inducted 25 members.
The path to Beta Kappa Mu began years earlier. As an undergraduate student, Abdallah-Hassan first attempted to establish a chapter of an existing national Muslim sorority at MSU. When that wasn’t feasible, Abdallah-Hassan decided to start fresh.
“Instead of trying to establish a chapter, I thought it would be best for me to establish this from scratch,” Abdallah-Hassan said.
That decision to build something new rather than replicate an existing model gave Abdallah-Hassan the freedom to shape Beta Kappa Mu around the specific needs she saw on campus. The sorority is Muslim-founded but open to all women regardless of background.
“The purpose really of the organization is to bring together women of all backgrounds to create a space where every voice is celebrated, uplifted and really empowered,” Abdallah-Hassan explained.
The organization is built on five pillars: Service, Advocacy, Leadership, Authenticity and Mentorship.
Beta Kappa Mu has partnered with Najwa Foundation, a Michigan nonprofit supporting refugees from Sudan and Chad. Starting next year, sorority members will lead language classes and citizenship courses for local refugees, with members paired one-on-one to support English language needs.
The mentorship pillar extends to high school students, with members serving as “big sisters” to local seniors transitioning to college.
Abdallah-Hassan is also organizing the sorority’s first pitch competition, scheduled for March 28, 2026, at Everett High School. High school students from Everett, East Lansing, Holt, Okemos, Grand Ledge and all local high school students from first-year students to seniors can pitch business ideas or existing ventures. Winners will receive prize money and mentorship from established entrepreneurs.
Abdallah-Hassan hopes to make the competition an annual event, with the hosting high school rotating each year.
This fall, the sorority is connecting with other campus organizations through events like a spelling bee competition and a mixer bringing together women-based student groups. Spring semester will focus on community engagement.
“This year itself is really about us establishing our footing and creating that presence,” Abdallah-Hassan said. “Setting that precedent so that next time when we’re talking to girls, they can say, ‘Okay, I see what you guys are doing. This is the community I want to be a part of.’”
Abdallah-Hassan credits JMC with shaping her approach to community building and public service.
“I’m very ambitious. I’m a dreamer,” Abdallah-Hassan said. “I always like to have big ideas and then sit down and be like, ‘Okay, that’s a really big idea. How can I make it possible?’ I think with JMC, it made me feel like it’s okay to be ambitious. It’s okay to have crazy ideas and go out there and do it.”
The connections she made at JMC provided crucial encouragement. “Going through JMC and just the people that I met there gave me the motivation and really just the courage to say, ‘I can do this,’” Abdallah-Hassan said, citing Assistant Dean Jeff Judge, academic advisor Emelia Hammond and Professor Guido Parietti as particularly supportive.
Abdallah-Hassan graduated from MSU in August 2023 with degrees in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy and Media Information with a concentration in film. She’s currently pursuing dual master’s degrees at MSU in public policy and advertising and public relations, alongside a third bachelor’s degree in Arabic.
Her political aspirations inform her community work. “My goal is to go into politics someday,” she explained. “I think this is a great way to build relationships with the community, so that way later on when I decide to run for mayor or decide to run for governor, I’m really establishing this relationship early on.”