The Muslim Students’ Association partnered with the Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life, Division of Student Affairs officials and other organizations to coordinate their annual programming to observe Ramadan this month with events surrounding charitable initiatives and iftars.
MSA hosted iftar — the fast-breaking meal during Ramadan — gala fundraisers for people in Muslim-majority countries and themed nights in collaboration with cultural and religious student organizations. The MSA’s president, who requested anonymity due to concerns of doxxing, said this year’s programing is more “fleshed out” than previous years in part because of financial support from the Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life, which opened last fall.
“Something that we’ve been really focusing on this year is setting in motion different processes and programs and stuff that can be replicated in the years to come and also have a longer lasting effect,” the MSA president said.
Ramadan, the ninth and holiest month on the Muslim calendar beginning and ending on the sighting of the new moon, is a period of reflection and includes fasting from sunrise to sunset, with five daily prayers — Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha.
Officials launched the Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life in fall 2024 as a part of the University’s “Strengthening Our Community in Challenging Times” plan, which officials released in January 2024 to review campus free speech policies and religious programming in response to campus tensions related to the war in Gaza.
The MSA president said the center will host a celebration for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, expected to take place April 1 in the lower level of the University Student Center.
The MSA president said the meals for iftars cost about $10 per person, and because they anticipate 150 to 200 people attending, they usually spend about $2,000 per iftar. They said the center and the Division of Student Affairs catered two iftars in the student center, saving MSA approximately $4,500.
“If we didn’t have them paying for those iftars, we wouldn’t have been able to have them at all,” the MSA president said.
Officials completed renovations for the musalla, or prayer room, on the fourth floor of the student center in August after MSA leaders expressed a desire to update the space due to the previously worn down carpet and outdated supplies. The MSA president said the renovated musalla gives the organization more space to host nightly prayers.
The charity gala on March 17 in the Continental Ballroom was cosponsored by Islamic Relief USA, a nonprofit humanitarian organization that aims to provide relief and development to communities in conflict or poverty. A presentation screen at the gala displayed a QR code, where MSA members encouraged attendees to donate to Islamic Relief’s efforts toward food, medical aid, emergency relief, education and more in over 40 countries worldwide.
Senior Specialist for Public Affairs, Research and Advocacy at Islamic Relief USA Muhammad Ali gave a short speech at the gala about the moral reasoning behind donation during Ramadan. Ali said Ramadan is not just a period of looking inward but an opportunity for those who observe the holiday to be their “best selves.”
“Ramadan is meant to be a season of practicality, not to just sit somewhere in a quiet corner by yourself, but rather it’s calling attention to the Muslims that say they are suffering around you, there are those in need around you, and let’s uplift humanity, uplift the humanity that exists around you,” Ali said in an interview.
Ali said Islamic Relief is “widely engaged” with universities nationwide and partners with Muslim student organizations from all across the country during Ramadan to promote different activities, like volunteer work and advocating for giving back to the Muslim community by targeting local governments.
MSA also collaborated with the Afghan Student Association throughout Ramadan to raise money for Afghan families through the Aseel Foundation — a program dedicated to assisting Afghans back to their homes — with a goal of $3,000 via Venmo. The MSA president said participating in charity during Ramadan is a core aspect of the holy month.
“From a religious perspective, it’s one of the most important things,” the MSA president said. “Supporting and advocating for our Muslim community abroad, where there’s so many different groups of people facing hardship, is something we really prioritize during Ramadan but also throughout the year.”
MSA held a variety of themed iftar nights including “A Night in Asia,” “A Night in the Middle East,” “A Night in Africa” and an interfaith iftar hosted by DSA and Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life on Thursday.
MSA also held a “Night in Solidarity with Students for Justice for Palestine” on Tuesday in support of SJP, after officials banned the organization from hosting on-campus events after the group prevented Division for Student Affairs officials from attending the group’s programming.
“We have an impact on all our communities together as a whole, and so we feel like it’s our responsibility to provide a place for them as well,” the MSA president said.
Officials placed MSA on disciplinary probation last August until the end of fall 2024 because of its alleged involvement in the pro-Palestinian encampment last spring. The MSA president said the lift of the probation and restrictions at the end of the fall semester “helped a lot” with the stress of planning events and meetings because the group is no longer required to meet with their student organization adviser on a weekly basis.
“Before we had to meet with our adviser every single week, and it was really difficult in the fall semester to do that and to keep up with that,” the MSA president said.
The MSA president said she would like to see an expansion of the amount of Ramadan programming and student engagement for the organization in the future and for the organization’s future leaders to continue working with Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life to integrate Muslim awareness into the GW community.
“That’s been one of our goals is to help them integrate awareness about Muslims on campus into the University, essentially, and that’s a goal that they have as well,” the MSA president said.
Junior Sakina Azhar, the programming chair for Pakistani Students’ Association, said while the Chaand Raat or “Night of the Moon” is a South Asian holiday, other Muslim cultures celebrate it as well. Azhar said MSA collaborating with different cultural organizations can help some Muslim community members feel more represented.
“While it’s important we all have our shared Muslim identity, sometimes it is also really nice to be able to feel seen and with your cultural identity,” Azhar said.
Sophomore Mominah Rao, the programming director for the Pakistani Students’ Association, said the organization collaborated with MSA for “A Night in Asia” themed iftar earlier this month. She said PSA is also collaborating with MSA for a Chaand Raat event Saturday, which marks the final day of Ramadan and eve of Eid, where they will host an iftar, a Maghrib prayer followed by henna, games and chai.
“We just thought it’d be nice because that way we can have an Islamic portion of it with like a reflection on how the month went during Ramadan and how we can apply it to the rest of our year while also having our own cultural portion, where we do a lot of henna and a lot of other activities that is specific to South Asian culture,” Rao said.
Rao said she hopes the University provides more financial support for MSA in order to ease the organization’s financial stress of hosting iftars and increase the food offerings in the suhoor, or morning meal, packages. She added that the provided suhoor and iftar packages only contained a “couple of things” like a protein bar and dates, which she said is not sufficient for the whole day.
“I have heard from a lot of people in our community that they do feel like this is a time when you want people around you with similar values, similar goals for this month, specifically to doing events that are collaborative with a lot of other orgs, is a good way to just open up the net for you to be able to outreach and meeting new people and just be able to meet more people with like-minded goals,” Rao said.
Jennifer Igbonoba contributed reporting.
