The holy month of Ramadan began on the evening of Feb. 28 for Muslims around the world. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar when Muslims around the world fast and focus on spiritual growth, abstaining from food and drink from the break of dawn to sunset. To gain insight into the experience of observing Ramadan on campus, The News-Letter interviewed Muslim students at Hopkins about their reflections and challenges during this holy month.
Zaynab Mirza, a junior majoring in International Studies, highlighted the difficulty of observing Ramadan away from home and the support she received from the Muslim community at Hopkins.
“In my family, we would all wake up for suhoor. We would all go to the mosque together to pray and break our fast,” she said. “You kind of miss that familial contact, especially when you are miles away from home.”
Despite being away from family, Mirza found the Hopkins Muslim community welcoming and supportive.
“My favorite part [of Ramadan] has been connecting with other Muslims,” she said. “I have a lot of hijabi friends who I go to Hopkins Café with and we all have iftar together. I think there is really a sense of community.”
In an email to The News-Letter, freshman Abeer Shuja described how she felt both more independent and more connected observing Ramadan on campus compared with at home. She mentioned the challenges of being away from her family, who would usually accompany her through this month. At the same time, she was surprised by the close bonds of the Hopkins Muslim community.
“There is a connectedness within the Muslim community here at Hopkins unlike anything I have ever experienced,” she wrote.
Students also reflected on the academic challenges they faced on campus during Ramadan. Many described the difficulty of balancing rigorous coursework with the physical and mental demands of fasting, especially during exam season.
Aliza Tharani, a freshman studying Neuroscience, pointed out the academic pressure accompanied by fasting and a tighter schedule.
“Exams are not paused [for Ramadan],” she said. “You don’t get days off. You just have to be strong and... find your own time, schedule your priorities and do self-reflection by yourself.”
Sleep deprivation is another source of stress, according to Ryan Alezz, a senior majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and president of Johns Hopkins University Muslim Association (JHUMA).
Alezz shared his daily schedule during Ramadan. He wakes up at 4:50 a.m. and does suhoor with the community at 5:20 a.m. In the evening, night prayers end around 11 p.m. There are also optional prayers late in the night.
“The hardest part [of Ramadan] is exhaustion,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Tharani found Ramadan meaningful and rewarding.
“[Ramadan] teaches a lot of self-control,” she said. “It gives you a lot of contemplation time and provides a sense of internal happiness.”
Alezz highlighted some major events on campus during Ramadan for students. Aside from the daily suhoor bags offered by the Charles Street Market and the iftars hosted by JHUMA, there are also speaker events for spiritual growth and fasting activities with non-Muslim students.
Muadh Elyamani, a junior majoring in Biophysics and vice president of JHUMA, notes that campus resources for Ramadan have expanded dramatically over the past few years due to student advocacy. Elyamani reflected on his Ramadan experience in his freshman year.
“When I came in as a freshman, there were never daily iftars for people,” he said. “They would only have iftars once a week, and those iftars will only be provided for around 50 students.”
Due to student engagement with the University and increased alumni funding, JHUMA established a collaborative relationship with Hopkins Dining and secured funding from outside sources for Ramadan. In 2023, JHUMA hosted iftars in Hopkins Café for the first time.
Last year, they also started collaborating with the Inn at The Colonnade Baltimore for iftar accommodations.
“We were able to expand our iftars to 125 people,” Elyamani said. “It was a beautiful evolution.”
Students observing Ramadan provided positive feedback to the suhoor and iftar services. Tharani especially appreciated the opportunity to sample food for iftars before Ramadan at Hopkins Café.
“I feel like Hopkins has really made us — especially as freshmen — feel included while fasting,” she said. “It just gives us a sense of support that we lack from home.”
A Student Affairs spokesperson underscored the guiding values of Hopkins Dining in accommodating students observing Ramadan.
“Through hospitality and innovation, Hopkins Dining strives to nourish the well-being of all of our students, provide experiences that foster community, and become an integral part of the lives of the Johns Hopkins community,” he wrote.
He believes that those commitments are reflected through Hopkins Dining’s efforts to offer flexible meal plans, ensure the cultural accuracy of meal offerings and provide opportunities for community engagement and enhance cultural understanding.
He also highlighted Hopkins Dining’s ongoing efforts to adapt and improve in response to student feedback.
“Student input and feedback is central to the mission of Hopkins Dining, and our menus continually evolve as we respond to students’ needs and strive to provide year-round offerings that accommodate dietary restrictions and religious practices from all over the world,” he wrote.
Alezz described how JHUMA collaborated with Hopkins Dining to ensure high-quality, authentic food options before Ramadan, and how Hopkins Dining actively responded to students’ feedback to ensure more food varieties and higher accessibility.
Students shared their thoughts on further resources needed on campus for Ramadan observance. Elyamani believes that more academic accommodations are needed, noting that it has been hard for him to obtain religious accommodations for classes and exams during Ramadan.
“[When you have] an exam at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., sometimes it can be very tough to obtain accommodations,” he said. “Most of the time, [the professors] will just tell you that you can stop, step out, break your fast and complete the exam. But you are still going to be hungry.”
Mirza and Alezz both believe that Muslim students are in need of more prayer spaces closer to the high-traffic areas of campus.
“We do have one in Shriver Hall and one in the MSE Library Annex,” Mirza added. “[But] they are both very far from the main parts of campus. So it is an inconvenience, especially when class ends and I have to find the prayer room.”
Alezz emphasized the significance of more accessible prayer spaces during Ramadan.
“It's hard, especially in Ramadan, where prayers matter much more,” he said. “I think a lot of us pray in empty classrooms, and a lot of people pray in staircases... so what I want to see going forward is prayer spaces more central to campus so students can leave class, go pray and come back in a timely manner. ”
