Behind the scenes of the annual Ramadan tent organized by Muslim Student Association – The Cougar

Muslim Student Association organized the annual Ramadan tent for students to pray and break their fasts. 

The tent is located next to the A.D. Bruce Religion Center and all students, regardless of religious affiliation, are welcome to join and spend time. 

For most students, the communal aspect of the tent is its greatest strength, with roughly 400 students visiting every day.

“There aren’t many opportunities on campus for Muslims. In the past, you just go to the dining hall and then break your fast there and that’s it,” said biology senior Esa Mohammed. “One of the greatest things that MSA has done is making sure that everyone feels like they belong.”

Students believe that when it comes to Ramadan, it’s more than just fasting. Its about wanting to do things that are beneficial for the community as well. 

The welcoming atmosphere is what makes MSA distinct, and officers try to recreate the same atmosphere that they experienced while attending an MSA event for the first time, said MSA socials officer and finance junior Sikandar Khan. 

“One of the reasons why MSA really clicked for me is because when I went there, I didn’t have to put myself out there,” Khan said. “People came to me, said hi to me and engaged with me. That’s how I got comfortable talking there, sharing my feelings and having friends here.”

Khan often brings his non-Muslim friends with him when visiting the tent as well, trying to create a positive atmosphere. 

Inside, the tent is not only bustling with students but also thoughtfully decorated, with drapes and curtain lights hung on the walls along with Persian carpets on the ground.

But setting up and maintaining the tent is no easy feat: behind the scenes is a staggering amount of fundraising and coordination.

It costs roughly $60,000 to operate the tent each Ramadan, sourced not only through donors and sponsorships but also individual tabling events, bake sales, and crowdsourcing.

“It surprised me how mobile the community was, even the non-MSA community,” said Biology sophomore Amira Khattab. “Instead of buying your five-dollar matcha, do you want to just chip in five dollars for the tent? You don’t have to force anyone to do anything – people just want to do it because they want to see other people benefiting.”

Some restaurants offered to cater food for free. Then, students worked in groups to pack, transport and set up food for the nightly iftar.

For Mohammed, sunset is the best time to visit the tent: it’s when the hard work of the day culminates in a shared prayer and meal.

“Around sunset is when you’ll see the community at large,” Mohammed said. “All the people are gathered here. So I think that’s one of the best times that you can come to observe the community at its peak.”

Fundraising for this year will continue until the last meal is given out. Khattab estimates that MSA has reached about three-quarters of its fundraising goal for this year, with about $12,000 left to go.

Everything from all the frenzy of planning to the countless hours of commitment to the stress of the process, is deeply worth it, said logistics coordinator for MSA and biology sophomore Zeyad Ibrahim.

“Whenever you see the results, all these people gathered together and smiling and laughing, it gives you the sense of accomplishment,” Ibrahim said. “We need to keep going, we can keep going because it’s actually working. It’s not for nothing.”

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