At 7:00 p.m. on March 20, students, students and staff gathered at the UC lobby to celebrate Ramadan Iftar. By the time the event began, a crowd already spanned across the entire lobby.
Ramadan Iftar is the evening meal after sunset where Muslims break their day-long fast. The fast, which length can change depending on the day but is always done from sunrise until sundown, is broken with a prayer and the festive meal called an iftar.
“This is the most people we’ve ever seen. We ran out of food, so next year we’re definitely going to anticipate that. This was really successful this year.” Kinza Awais, the president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), said.
“I really got excited for this event since there’s so many Muslims on campus and this is such a great opportunity to bring everybody together,” Awais said.
At one of the largest turnouts for a student event this year, clear unity between Webster’s various cultures and nationalities can be seen.
“We have dishes from so many different parts of the world. You know, we have Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, we have so many different countries that come and make food for everybody,” Awais said.
The dishes featured included Greek Spanakopita, or spinach pie, sholezard, a Persian desert, and hummus with naan bread. The cultural mingling of the event can be seen all the way into the food that was served, as Hummus hails from Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, while Naan is a South and West Asian creation.
After a few short announcements from the event’s hosts, the eating commenced. As soon as the food was ready, lines stretching all the way back to the stairwell of the UC began to form. Students, staff, faculty members and families all eagerly awaited their dinner. When the MSA volunteers finished setting up tables, they seemed to fill up almost immediately.
“In MSA we primarily focus on getting volunteers. We’re the ones who come in and help decorate and get everything rolling, and make sure the events go smoothly throughout it,” Awais said.
After many broke their fast, they exited to pray while the staff working the event started to clean up.
“Honestly the biggest goal of the event is for people to come and just feel like they’re a part of a community,” Awais said. “When you’re at school as a Muslim during Ramadan it can be really hard to juggle sometimes. When it comes to responsibilities, when it comes to school [and] when it comes to family, it can be a little tough for students on campus. I don’t want students on campus to feel like they’re going through it by themselves.”
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