Muslim Students Observe Start of Ramadan Holy Month

With a day of fasting and an evening gathering at Ticknor Lounge, Muslim students marked the first day of the holy month of Ramadan yesterday.

Ramadan is a month of religious observance that requires Muslims to worship and reflect, as well as to fast from sunrise to sunset each day.

"Ramadan is like Rosh Hashanah, Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving all rolled into one," said Loeb Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology David G. Mitten, who is a faculty adviser to the Harvard Islamic Society (HIS).

HIS's Ramadan program will provide food and prayer accommodations every night in Ticknor for 60 to 80 students and faculty members.

"We get a good mix of graduate and undergraduate students here each night," said Zayed M. Yasin '02, the president of HIS.

The nightly prayer and dinner gatherings are open to students of all faiths. Each Ramadan, HIS invites different groups of people on various nights.

"We have a night to invite faculty and an interfaith night to have people from different religions come and break bread with us," said Al-Husein N. Madhany, a graduate adviser to HIS.

The month poses certain logistical problems for observers. In the midst of observing the holy month, Madhany and Yasin said that after taking time out for prayer, they have just enough time for classes.

During Ramadan, Muslims wake up before sunrise to eat an early breakfast, then fast until sunset, around 4:15 p.m.

Although Harvard dining halls do not open until nearly an hour later, Harvard University Dining Services said that students can exercise other options.

"We make available a bagged meal for them if they care to order it," executive chef Michael Miller said. "This is what we've done for as long as I've been here."

Harvard will also partially reimburse Muslim students fasting for Ramadan should they choose to eat elsewhere after sunset.

But to Mitten, Ramadan is about more than fasting--it is about brotherhood and celebration.

"It brings a lot of people together. Ramadan makes us all equal," Mitten said.

The fast serves as a reminder of spiritual awareness.

"Every time you get hungry or thirsty you think of God. It makes us mindful of him and all people around the world who are suffering," Mitten said.

Amidst prayer rugs and friendly greetings last night, Yasin agreed that Ramadan is a valuable time for reflection and growth.

"It's very easy to get lost in academics and petty trials of going to Harvard," he said. "It's good to remember what's important."