In the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims who observe the holiday abstain from drinking water and eating food during daylight hours. Together at sundown, they break their fast with a meal known as iftar and unite as a family and community.
Students and faculty gathered together to break their fast in an iftar open to the community at sundown March 22 in the Lory Student Center ballrooms with approximately 600 people in attendance.
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Reham Abdunabi, the CSU South West Asian and North African Organization coordinator for the Asian Pacific American Cultural Center, described what the intent of the event was.
“(The event) is for people to learn and get educated more about Muslims and just see us in not a bad light,” Abdunabi said. “That is something that is framed in media. … Me personally in my life, it’s been very rare that Muslims have ever had anything positive said to them, unfortunately. So it’s always been my mission to change that narrative and show people our culture and heritage.”
“I just want people to get educated and learn and have more of an open mind. I think college is a time where you can learn about different cultures. … Just open yourself to experiences. That’s definitely been my mission and kind of why I decided to have the event.” -Reham Abdunabi, South West Asian and North African Organization president
Abdunabi said one of the most important aspects of Ramadan is to come together as a community and share a meal and also mentioned how integral it is in the Middle East and North Africa.
“During Ramadan especially, it’s about giving and charity,” Abdunabi said. “We fast the 30 days just for discipline, and so we have a sense of empathy for others who don’t have food and water because those are unfortunately a luxury in this world and always has been since the beginning of time.”
Nora Aslan, a senior at CSU, reflected on the importance of this event for the Muslim community as well as the community at CSU.
“(The event) was meant to bring people together in the community because the SWANA population, as well as the Muslim population here at CSU, were not really well known or well seen on campus,” Aslan said.
Considering the importance of Ramadan, Aslan continued to describe the essence of Muslim identity.
“Being Muslim is meant to be something that takes care of the entire community around you rather than just yourself,” Aslan said. “Which I think is really important because CSU talks about building a community, and so having that event really did focus on building community.”
In consideration of Muslim representation on campus, Abdunabi said she believes these events are powerful and important for the community and hopes to see similar events happen more frequently in the future.
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“I just want people to get educated and learn and have more of an open mind,” Abdunabi said. “I think college is a time where you can learn about different cultures. … Just open yourself to experiences. That’s definitely been my mission and kind of why I decided to have the event.”
Reach Christian Arndt at life@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
