On the evening of Sunday, May 5, Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, began. During Ramadan, Muslims are required to fast from sunrise to sunset and pray at least five times a day. All Muslims are required to fast, unless they are under the age of nine years old, pregnant, sick, or old so their health isn’t put in jeopardy. After sunset, Muslims are able to feast by first praying and then drinking a glass of water and eating a date.
“Sometimes you just realize how much you have in front of you and every day to day life you are not always appreciative of that glass of water,” says Zehra Khan ’22. “When you don’t have food in your system, you sometimes understand, ‘Wow there’s someone who lives their life like this.’”
Being at Carleton does not stop Muslim students from fasting sunrise to sunset during Ramadan. They come together to support one another and feast when it is time. “A big thing about Ramadan is just having a community together and even though I don’t have that big community everywhere this time, I still have a community” says Hashir Safdar ’22. The Muslim students got together on Sunday, May 5, to celebrate the start of Ramadan by enjoying a meal together as a group. This was opened to all Carleton students before the South Asia Night Event. In terms of accommodations, Carleton has tried to change their meal plans for students during Ramadan by exchanging meal swipes for Sayles dollars since students won’t be able