At sunset tonight a small group of Dartmouth students will come together to break a day-long fast as part of the celebration for Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar.
"Ramadan brings us together as a Muslim community and provides us with a sense of community," said Nader Hebela '95, president of Al-Nur, the College's Muslim student association.
"We gather at the end of the day to eat and break our fast together," he said.
Ramadan commemorates the completion of the Koran and Hebela said fasting plays a very important role in the celebrations.
Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, and every woman or man past puberty should observe the fast, said Kamran Khan, Al-Nur's faculty advisor.
"We fast because it is a commandment from God," Hebela said. "Also, at the end of Ramadan we are supposed to give charity to the poor because it is our duty."
"Fasting helps us realize what people go through who don't have enough food to eat," he said. "It is a good exercise in self control."
Throughout the month, the members of Al-Nur get together to break fast every evening, pray, and raise money for charities, Hebela said. This year they will be conducting a food drive for the hungry in the Upper Valley.
Mar. 2 marks the end of Ramadan, which is followed by a day of feasting and celebration.
Celebrating Ramadan away from home is a new experience for some Dartmouth students.
"It is different to be away from home for Ramadan because at home the entire family gets together and eats together," Ilyas Colombowala '98 said.
"It was difficult to be away from home at the beginning, but I've gotten used to the fact that I won't always be with my family," Amel Ahmed '96 said.
Rehan Khan, the computing director at the Dartmouth Medical School, said observing the fast during Ramadan while at Dartmouth is not that hard.
"When you are working at school, the fast is less of a burden," he said. "You don't think about it as much because you have so many other things on your mind."
Khan estimates that since Feb. 1, about 50 people within the Dartmouth community, including close to 30 students, have been observing the holiday by fasting from dawn to dusk and abstaining from alcohol, smoking and sex for the duration of the month.
