College years are often marked by rigorous studies, dining hall meet-ups, and late nights.
For Muslim students, that looks a little different during Ramadan.
The holy month of Ramadan, which commemorates the revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad, begins this year on Friday. Muslims fast from food and water from sunrise to sunset each day of the month, and they typically gather in community at night to break their fast and pray.
Abdulrahman Hashem, president of the Muslim Student Association at the University of Toledo, said that while much of one’s routine remains in the norm, there is an extra effort to grow spiritually and morally.
“You have to really try to be more conscious as you go about your day and really take into account your actions and your thoughts,” said Hashem, a sophomore studying biomedical engineering. “It’s all about purifying your intentions as a Muslim and rekindling your faith.”
Communing
At Bowling Green State University, students get together to break their fast, pray a special night prayer said during Ramadan called taraweeh, and read the Qur’an. They also strive to share the spirit of Ramadan — kindness, forgiveness, and renewal — with others, said Nuzaira Tarannum, an international student from Bangladesh working on her Ph.D. in media and communication.
She typically visits a Toledo-area mosque to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the completion of Ramadan, but during the month will stay in Bowling Green with her classmates and friends.
Tarannum prepared for the month ahead by stocking up on halal meat and Bangladeshi snacks at a specialty store in Michigan.
“I have my fridge stacked,” she said. “It's going to be for iftar food and Eid Day meal.”
Iftar is the post-sunset meal that breaks the fast. Tarannum plans to host at least one iftar dinner for her friends to dine and pray together. It’s also an opportunity for non-Muslim peers to experience the holiday and cultural food, she said.
A few years ago, Tarannum hosted dozens of students at her house for a full day of feasting and celebrating Eid. This year, Eid falls on the evening of March 29. Tarannum will hold off her Eid celebration until the end of the semester, when students are less busy with assignments and exams.
Hashem lives at home, so he will break most of his fasts with his family. Students who live on UT’s campus typically get together for their nightly iftar meal, he said.
Cultural differences
A major challenge for international students is not eating homemade food or celebrating in the same way as in their home country.
The UT MSA plans to host iftar dinners for international students featuring food from local restaurants, Hashem said, noting that “we want to give people the opportunity to feel like they're not far away from home.”
Tarannum studied this phenomenon of loneliness among international students in a 2023 report that she presented at the International Communication Association Conference that year in Toronto. She surveyed around 75 Bangladeshi students at about a dozen U.S. schools about the challenges of being an international and Muslim student on their campus.
“During those national holidays, during those religious festivals ... those type of months are the hardest when you are living as an international student on your own,” Tarannum said. “It becomes the worst when you know this is a time of the year when everyone in my family is together except me.”
Cultural differences add to the isolation, she said.
While “it’s just nice to have something going on,” for the festivals, Eid celebrations in northwest Ohio are “nothing compared to in Bangladesh,” she said. Tarannum is used to five or more days of continuous celebrations — not just an afternoon. There are even more parties when people return to their workplaces after the vacation, she said.
Even about 8,000 miles from home, she's been able to find her community both on campus and in the wider Muslim community.
“You miss food from home. So when there’s a potluck, there's good food [at the mosques], you kind of want to go,” Tarannum said. “If I can manage time during classes, I like to go to those festivals. I've been to one or two of those, and I have had a good time. The community is welcoming. They take care of students.”
Balancing academics
When building his class schedule each semester, Hashem takes into account Friday prayer at the mosque, which is mandatory for Muslim men to attend. It’s not always easy to avoid having class when it’s time to break the fast during Ramadan.
“That's really where you're tested. In those moments, that's where the strengths and the character is built,” Hashem said. “The patience that you learn from that, the perseverance, the mindset that you adopt.”
Last year, the UT student had a night chemistry lab. The BGSU student often has graduate courses from 6 to 9 p.m., but has found her professors to be understanding and accommodating.
“At the same time, like clockwork, all three of us are bringing out our food and start eating during the class,” Tarannum said. Professors sometimes schedule the class break for when the Muslim students need to pray.
“I'm not lagging behind with my studies or anything,” she said. “It's just something that we manage.”
Though difficult, focusing during class when he hasn't eaten for 13 hours is nothing compared to what others experience on a daily basis, Hashem reminds himself.
“There's people in the world that don't get to eat at all, every day,” he said. “When you think about these people as you go about your day, it feels a little easier.”
Ramadan does not overlap with the end of the semester this year, but Hashem remembers times in high school when he had to take final exams while fasting for Eid.
As exhausting as studying and classwork can be, even just hanging out can tire a person out, he noted.
“Even talking, we keep it to a minimum, because you get really exhausted [and dehydrated] really fast if you talk too much,” Hashem said.
One trick to pass the time and not get too tired is to sleep in (after a quick pre-sunrise meal) or sleep most of the day, especially on weekends, he said.
And for student athletes fasting from water, he said, “you’ve got to be a different animal to get through the day.”
Hashem estimates there are about 400 Muslim students at UT, and Tarannum estimates about 200 at BGSU.
First Published February 27, 2025, 12:00 p.m.
