Story by MAYAN PAZ Photos by MAX BOWYER
Tiger Media Network
Ramadan is one of the Islamic faith pillars, and it’s about the Muslim obligation to observe fast. Muslims participate in a 30-day fast each year and abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset. After sunset, there is a large meal called Iftar to break the daily fast. The Iftar meal usually allows families to come together for the holiday, but at Fort Hays State University, it is about bringing the campus Muslim community together.
Pamphlets with information about the origins of Islam and Ramadan were provided to those who attended 
Seynabou Mbaye (Event Manager) and Sokhna Fat Toure Gaye (Treasurer) welcome guest 
There was a large population of students who came to support/ or were participating in Ramadan during the event 
Aminata Mbaye and Farheen Khan (Professor here at FHSU and potentially the sponsor of MSA) help prepare the food during the fasting period 
Aminata Mbaye and Farheen Khan (Professor here at FHSU and potentially the sponsor of MSA) help prepare the food during the fasting period 
Aminata Mbaye and Farheen Khan (Professor here at FHSU and potentially the sponsor of MSA) help prepare the food during the fasting period 
Seynabou Mbaye 
Event Manager, Aminata Mbaye quizzes about the different prophets in Islam after giving an educational presentation to the guest who attended
Farheen Khan, an interior design associate professor and the Muslim Student Association faculty advisor at FHSU, spoke about the holiday saying it is obligatory for all Muslims to observe fast; however, the Iftar celebration is a chance to gather together and create a sense of community.
“We share food because at the time of sunset, we break our fast,” she said. “So this is a time when we are all gathered together a sense of community, and we are all sharing the meal together and enjoying food.”
FHSU celebrated with Iftar last Monday, allowing Muslim students at Fort Hays State to be with a familiar community for the holiday. The event took place in the Memorial Union Ballroom and consisted of a meal, games, and presentations by students about Ramadan and Islam.
Rahma, one of the students, made a presentation about the Hijab, the fabric that is worn by women to cover their hair.
“Hijab is an obligation stated in the Qur’an; it’s a way of worship for women,” she said. “It is a mandatory requirement, and it doesn’t limit women in Islam. During Ramadan, Hijab is a symbol of deeper religious commitment.”
Another presentation about the Islamic prophets was made by Aminata and Nabu, international students from Senegal.
“Adam is the first prophet. He was created by Allah from clay. Nuh is another prophet who was saved by his beliefs and built an ark to save the world. Musa split the Red Sea with his stick and spoke directly to Allah on Mount Sinai. Isa (Jesus) performed miracles and healed people. Dawud had great strength, defeated giants, and ruled the land as told in the Qur’an. Muhammad is the last prophet; he is the great prophet who created Islam as we know it,” they presented.
This Iftar event was hosted for the third time in a row at FHSU, and Khan said it is growing every year. However, Ramadan is a 30-day fast, and Muslim students may struggle with finding suitable arrangements to break their fast every day, as Hays does not have a lot of Halal food, which is Islamic-permitted food.
“Students don’t have good opportunities because we don’t have Halal restaurants in town. We don’t have halal food, just Walmart recently started a line of Halal stuff. So it is really difficult for Muslims to fast and make sure that their protein intake and everything is good too. So we have to order online so that’s a bit of a challenging situation for students in Hays,” Khan said. “So we, MSA students, reached out to Walmart and retail stores like Dillons, and we were able to request the needs of the community. So we are hoping that it will help. We recently saw that Walmart started a few items of Halal chicken, but it is pricey, so it’s not students budget friendly at all.”