Within the religion of Islam, Muslims worship their God, commonly referred to as Allah, in the form of obligatory fasting during Ramadan. Many Muslim students on campus are currently taking part in Ramadan and they fast from dawn to sunset.

“Ramadan is the month in which the holy book was revealed down to all Muslims,” junior Ahmed Malik said. “And it is a month where all Muslims around the world fast for 30 days as a way to show their love for their religion to God and the messenger.”

Muslims fast in order to strengthen their faith in Allah.

“So we just wake up before the sunrise happens.So when it’s still dark outside,” Malik said. “And that is when we eat, drink, do whatever we need to have energy for the rest of the day.And then we fast for the entirety of the day. Meaning that we don’t eat or drink for the whole day until the sun is about to set.So right when the sun is setting, that is why we take a date to break our fast.And then after that, we consume all the food we need to regain all the energy that was lost throughout the day.”

The hardships of fasting are felt to varying degrees across the Islamic community as students must balance their religion with school throughout school days.

“What makes fasting really hard during school is when people eat next to you in class,” junior Abdul-Kareem Darweesh said. “Being a wrestler while I’m fasting is very difficult, especially in the marathons, because of the harsh conditioning and workouts that we do. ”