The crescent moon was spotted on the night of Feb. 31st which means that Ramadan has officially begun. In fact, we’re nearly halfway through this month and the observance time.
A month observed by billions of Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a month of fasting, increased prayer, and charity that serves as one of the five pillars of Islam. With a considerably large Muslim population in Cardozo High School, it is worth understanding the way students observe Ramadan and balance this month with the rest of their responsibilities.
Being a student can be challenging as it is, but managing school with personal religious obligations can be even more difficult than many think. Let’s look at the daily schedule changes for Muslim students in Cardozo.
To begin, a typical day of fasting in Ramadan begins with a meal before dawn to prepare for the upcoming day without food or water. This is referred to as sehri, or suhoor. This part of the day can disrupt our students’ sleep schedules, but they make it worthwhile.
For instance, Tabinda Hoque expressed her greatest struggle to be, “having to wake up for suhoor and stay up afterwards to read Quran, pray.” Likewise, Wareesha Raya, a freshman at Cardozo explained, “My sleep schedule has definitely changed and I’m doing my routine so much differently.”
Our students persevere through this struggle out of love for their faith and dedication to using this month wisely.
Nabiha Subaita, the president of our Muslim Student Associate at Cardozo shared, “I have to change my schedule to manage making iftar, studying, and trying to dedicate time to religious studies. I have to sleep later and wake up earlier to balance everything.”
With the struggles and sacrifices students make, there are many parts of this month our students enjoy. For starters, the unity of the Muslim community of families to observe this month is definitely one that is worth including.
Malak Abaroui, a junior in Cardozo High School, and a board member of the Arab Student Association writes, “My favorite part about Ramadan is the community aspect. It’s a time where all Muslims…come together to better themselves.” Sabrina Normurodova agrees with Abaroui, and stressed the importance of “the family sitting together for suhoor or iftar [meal at sunset to break the fast].”
Some of these students have some critiques to share for the DOE on how they observe the month of Ramadan for their Muslim students. Some believe that they should automatically be allowed to sit out for PE, Fitness, or Weight Training classes, as it burdens us when they’re restricted from food and water during the day.
Jaima Choudhury argued, “allowing students to sit out during PE or not exert themselves as hard would be incredibly helpful.”
Others believe the DOE should administer an annual week break for Eid, like the week break administered at the end of December.
Tabinda Hoque, a sophomore at Cardozo believes, “The DOE should give us a ten day break during the last days of Ramadan um, and for Eid. It would also be helpful if we started school a bit later so students could catch up on their sleep.” She continued on to discuss the detriments of a lack of sleep, “when I’m given excess work … then get tired the following day because I’m fasting and wasn’t able to get sleep either.”
Although Ramadan can be a time full of struggles, it’s appreciated by Muslims all around the school campus. Muslims in Cardozo observe this month carefully and with gratitude, yet there’s still room to improve for the DOE to help accommodate our students during this month.
