The College’s rural setting is certainly a far cry from the robust Muslim communities found in bigger cities, but that doesn’t stop Muslim students from keeping their observance of Ramadan a vibrant and meaningful tradition. Even in an area where halal restaurants are scarce, students have found innovative ways to celebrate together — gathering for community cooking, shared meals, and themed games. 

Ramadan, which takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a time when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset each day and come together for voluntary night prayers called taraweeh. Since students began fasting on Feb. 18, MSU has been organizing community iftars — the evening meal that breaks the fast — on Saturday evenings in Dodd dining room.

Last Saturday, Arabic Teaching Associate Merouane Ait Rais and Arabic Language Fellow Celine Skaf organized a community cooking event at the Zilkha Center which culminated in a potluck iftar, a collaboration between MSU and the Arabic studies department. “This was a wonderful collaboration with Muslim Life, the Muslim Student Union, and [the Southwest Asian and North African Student Union],” Ait Rais wrote in an email to the Record. “The event was open to the entire community, providing a space for people to connect over a meal.” 

According to Ait Rais, Muslims and non-Muslims alike are invited to take part in the tradition.

In addition to the Saturday evening iftars, MSU has also organized community iftars with student organizations around campus, such as the Williams African Student Organization, Black Student Union, and Williams College Jewish Association. Serigne Ndione ’26, a senior advisor for MSU, expressed his gratitude to these groups for their willingness to collaborate in a celebration of the holiday. “MSU and interfaith iftars are a great space for diversity in terms of food,” he said. “The groups that we’re collaborating with give us some of that diversity that we long for.” 

College Chaplain and Director of Muslim Life Sidra Mahmood hopes that, in the future, even more non-Muslim students are inspired to attend iftars. “My role as the chaplain is not just to support the Muslim community, but [also] to educate and create more awareness about Muslims and Islam for the whole campus,” she said.

Mahmood has also worked with the College to offer meals that accommodate the Ramadan fasting schedule, as suhoor — the pre-dawn meal — is typically eaten around 5 a.m., outside of Dining Services’ usual hours. MSU Co-Chair Maliha Rashid ’27 described how students adjust to these scheduling challenges. “There are no dining halls open at that time, so every year students get suhoor care packages,” she told the Record. “The dining staff provides you with nonperishables and sandwiches you can keep in your room for a couple of days to have for your pre-fasting meal.” 

Ndione said he appreciates the care the Dining staff put into preparing the packages. “It’s a lot of quiet effort that goes behind the scenes to make the suhoor packages,” he said. 

Shaimaa Chbib ’29, MSU’s director of religious life, said that fasting would be easier and more comfortable if additional ethnic meal options were made available. “As a freshman, it’s hard being away from family for this long,” she said. “I would like to ask the College to put aside some money for [Muslim students] to be able to cater to everyone’s soul food.”  

Chbib isn’t alone in her desire for the flavors of home. In response to student requests, Mahmood has been organizing trips to an international market in Albany, N.Y., allowing students to stock up on ingredients for traditional dishes. 

Ndione emphasized that Ramadan is more than about fasting — it’s also about coming together as a spiritual community. “It’s a month where there’s a unique joy looking around the room and knowing everyone has made it to that same moment together,” he said. 

Rashid said that some of her strongest friendships have grown during Ramadan, both within and outside the Muslim community. “I have a lot of friends who join us for fasts and who fast throughout the month and are not Muslims, and they’re just fasting for their friends,” she said. “It is a great time to be on campus.” 

Ramadan also marks a time of increased participation from the Muslim student community in events organized by MSU, according to Rashid. “A lot of people that you don’t even know are from the same faith — and you get to know them during Ramadan,” she said. “Everyone is missing that part of their family, so they show up to our events.” 

The religious spaces on campus reflect this time of strong community among Muslim students. “You never see the interfaith common room or the Muslim common room as full as you do during Ramadan,” Rashid added.  

For Ait Rais, organizing Saturday’s events has enriched his Ramadan experience even when he is far from his family. “Ramadan is always a special time, but when you’re far from home, it can feel a bit lonely,” he wrote. “Facilitating these gatherings gave me something meaningful to pour my energy into. Each event became a way to recreate that sense of home and togetherness I was missing.”

Ndione said that the celebration of Ramadan at the College has had a meaningful impact. “Speaking for the broader Muslim community, we’re very fortunate to be a part of a place like Williams, where Ramadan definitely doesn’t feel like an afterthought,” Ndione said.