Music, the smell of traditional Arabic food and conversation filled the atmosphere last Friday at the Alumni Memorial Union. The Muslim Student Association hosted a Ramadan event to give Muslim students a place to come pray and eat as a community during the holy month.
Students first listened to Saria Shammout, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, talk about the importance of Ramadan and the reasons for their fasting. The students then traditionally broke their fast with a date and water before moving to the Lunda Room to say their sunset prayer. After prayer, they came back to eat their food and socialize.
During Ramadan, some Muslims don’t consume water or food when the sun is up. They perform a series of prayers throughout the day in addition to their fasts.
“Ramadan is a month of fasting and a month of building discipline and building community through everyone here,” Shammout said.
Shammout said Ramadan provides an opportunity for Muslims to understand their blessings. He said once something as important as food is taken away from you, it’s easy to recognize your blessings and understand situations where people are less fortunate than you.
Leen Mortada, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences and president of MSA, said that it can be especially hard for Muslim students who live in dorms to have food provided to them at the times they are required to eat. She said she’s really happy that MSA can provide this to people.
Schroeder dining hall is providing Halal options during lunch from 11a.m-2p.m and during dinner from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for those who celebrate Ramadan.
“Muslim students seeing other people fasting and breaking fast with them, it encourages them that they aren’t alone on campus and it’s a reminder that we’re here for them if they ever need it,” Mortada said.
They served tabbouleh, kabobs, chicken, beef and rice dishes which are all local Arabic dishes from Al Yousef Supermarket & Restaurant.
“It’s a thing that lets us all come together and spend time together which is something that we don’t do during the normal months,” Raza Rahman, a senior in the College of Health Sciences, said.
Rahman said that being with people who celebrate the same religion means a lot to him.
Mortada said that she and her nine board members try to plan at least one or two events where MSA provides food. She said people outside of Marquette also attend the events so they view it as a way to give back to the community.
Shammout said his religion is very important to him and having these types of events have been very beneficial to him during his time at Marquette.
“For me, it helped me build a lot of bonds that I wouldn’t have otherwise had, I was able to build a lot of relationships that got me to where I am today. These spaces that Marquette provides us with are a mechanism for us to meet new people and make sure that we’re sending the right image about our religion,” Shammout said.
Shammout said Islam is a religion that has fallen under scrutiny and harbors some misconceptions in our American culture. He said he wants to change this.
“I think it’s very important that we have a public area where we can interact with people who aren’t Islam. For them to understand what Islam really is and not just what they hear on the news or what they perceive it to be,” Shammout said.
Mortada said as a community, they try to do good deeds during the month of Ramadan and donate to charity to help improve the well-being of people around them.
“For non-Muslims, it’s showing them how much we take it seriously and why it’s so important to us. The simple things we take for granted on a day to day, during this blessed month we cherish. That’s what’s so cool to share with the Marquette community,” Mortada said.
This story was written by Sophia Tiedge. She can be reached at [email protected]
