Students at St. John Fisher University attended the Muslim Student Association’s Dinner to celebrate Ramadan. In honor of the Muslim religion, students enjoyed a very large dinner while being taught the importance of fasting Wednesday night.

The Muslim Student Association (MSA), a club that has not become more active in recent years until this year, hosted a Ramadan dinner that left students with new knowledge and bellies full.

MSA wanted students to understand that Ramadan is more than breaking the fast and enjoying a large meal. Instead, it is about reforming behavior, reforming attitude and making our hearts be more charitable to ones who are not as fortunate in society. 

Ramadan is one of the most sacred times for Muslims. At that time, there is a strict daily fast from dawn until sunset in which brings them closer to prayer, reflection, and the community.

The MSA event coordinator and president, Asma Ali, a junior, has been fasting ever since she was a child. She has always looked forward to breaking the fast with her family and now wants to do so with her fellow peers on St. John Fisher’s campus.

“We wanted to showcase to the students that there is diversity on this campus and invite others to celebrate in our holidays and break the fast together in celebration,” Asma explained.

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There is a small Muslim population on Fisher’s campus compared to the proportion of Muslims in Rochester as a whole. Most of the students attending the event did not practice the Muslim religion nor had any knowledge of what Ramadan was. 

This was the first year with celebrating Ramadan, initiated by students from the Muslim Student Association. Their mission is to spread diversity and to inform the Fisher campus about the Muslim culture.

“I come from a long family that practiced the religion. I participated in breaking the fast with my cousins who are Muslim,” said Ayda Zegeye, a senior attendee.

Asma and the rest of the Muslim Student Association enjoy seeing new faces at their events. They hope to be able to come together to advocate for Muslims on Fisher’s campus, especially when it comes to ensuring that Muslim students can eat and have a place to pray during Ramadan.

Students- Scott Klinkman and Bella Velasco were excited to not only learn something new about Ramadan but were also excited about the different foods offered.

“I am mostly looking forward to the food but want to gain a little bit of knowledge about Ramadan as well,” said Scott.