Muslim students celebrate holy month of Ramadan

Dozens of students arrived at Murray-Dodge Hall Tuesday evening to celebrate Eid, the end of the holy month of Ramadan. They exchanged hugs and Arabic greetings, dropped off gifts for the "Muslim Secret Santa" and posed for photos in traditional garb.

Every day for the previous four weeks, roughly 20 Muslim students gathered at sunset to pray and break the fast together.

For Muslims at the University, the holy month of Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection as well as mental and physical challenges.

Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar calendar, but the holiday is about more than just abstaining from food and drink.

"That's not enough," Taufiq Rahim '04 said. "It's fasting from mental vices, and doing good things as well."

During Ramadan, Muslims are supposed to avoid lying and talking about people behind their backs. For some students, upholding these principles can be a challenge.

"The eating part doesn't bother me as much as the spiritual part," Azeesat Babajide '06 said. "It's not like I can't focus on my work because I'm focusing on my stomach. Staying away from what I should stay away from is harder."

During Ramadan, Babajide woke up at 5 a.m. to eat cereal in her room. After the daily morning prayer, she would go back to sleep for a few hours until class. At 4:30 p.m., she would break the fast in her room, then head to Murray-Dodge for dinner and the sunset prayer.

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The fast took varying tolls on students' bodies.

"Some days are more difficult than others, but it's more than just a physical fast," Jameelah Muhammad '04 said. "It's a mental fast. It clears my mind and helps me focus on my schoolwork, rather than take away from it."

But for athletes like Jamal Motlagh '06, fasting posed a greater dilemma. Motlagh, who plays water polo, decided not to fast until after the season was over.

"It was a really difficult choice, but I knew it would not have been healthy for my body or mind," he said.

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This year, Ramadan coincided with the last 20 days of the water polo season, so Motlagh was only able to fast for nine days.

"It wouldn't be fair to my teammates who had relied on me throughout the season if, all of a sudden, my abilities dropped off at the end — which is the most important part," he said. "I have a duty to them and to myself to be able to perform up to my abilities."

As a swimmer in middle school, Motlagh would fast and leave the pool during practice at sundown to eat. He said he might have decided to fast this year if he played an individual sport or if Ramadan occurred at the beginning of the season.

Though he could not fast, Motlagh observed the holy month by praying more often, speaking with fellow Muslims and donating money to charities.

He began fasting the day after the water polo season ended. By the end of the month, he started getting headaches, which he blamed on not hydrating himself enough after sundown.

The experience, however, broadened his perspectives.

"You feel and relate to people who don't have food," he said. "They have no choice."

Ezdean Fassassi '06 was surprised to find that he was able to play junior varsity basketball and fast for the entire month. Last year, he tried to fast but ended up eating on some days.

This year, basketball practice was sometimes held at 4:30 p.m., so Fassassi did not break his fast until afterwards. He said that although his athletic performance might have suffered slightly during the month, his self-discipline has increased as a result.

"It was really cool that I did it this year," he said. "I didn't expect to be able to."

For Rahim, Ramadan was a month of change during which he saw people outside his normal group of friends at his eating club. He tried to attend more events, and brought non-Muslim friends to iftaar, the daily breaking of the fast, at Murray-Dodge.

The month is more about awareness than self-deprivation, he explained.

"It adds something," he said. "You're focusing more on different things; you're becoming more aware of different things. It's not just yourself — it's the plight of others."

But on Eid, the official end of Ramadan, Rahim admitted that he had enjoyed being able to eat lunch with his friends at Tower Club for the first time in a month.

"It's like coming out of hibernation," he said. "It's nice to see people again."