On March 20 at 6p.m, the Muslim Student Association here at Niles North will be holding a Ramadan-Iftar celebration night in the main gym to commemorate and celebrate the Ramadan tradition of fasting and Iftar which is the meal held every day during Ramadan at sunset.
The event itself is open to everyone, and MSA will host 7 guest speakers which include prominent authors and humanitarians such as Nour Akhras, and Arya Mudessir. Not to mention there will also be a photo-booth, prayer, food, and a raffle which students can participate in if they sign up for the fasting held on March 20, the sign up sheet can be found during all lunch periods on March 19.
Ramadan is an Islam tradition held during the 9th month in the Islamic lunar calendar which contains a full month of fasting, worship, service, communal gathering, and spiritual development meant to teach self-discipline, empathy, and spiritual awareness. Freshman Kiswa Karim believes it helps her reflect on herself.
“Ramadan gives me a chance to reflect spiritually, because in life we don’t really get a chance to actually think and review back on ourselves” Kiswa says, “it’s like we need time for ourselves to think and reflect on who you are as a person and Ramadan lets me do that.”
The Co-President of MSA senior Mariam Patel agrees as well.
“It is special because Ramadan is a big month and it’s not just Niles north,” Mariam says “There’s a lot of other communities that come so it’s nice to see everyone immersing themselves in the culture.”
The Muslim Student Association is one of the cultural clubs at Niles North and everyone is encouraged to go to the club and explore the Islam traditions and cultures, says treasurer and junior Asmaa Khan.
“MSA is a club for the Muslim community but everyone is invited, we do a bunch of activities that inform other people about the Islam culture, and people can come talk and make new friends.”
