For the past month, some people in our community have participated in the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a holiday observed by practitioners of Islam during which they fast, starting at dawn and lasting till sunset; during this fast, participants can not eat or drink even water, though there are exceptions if needed. Before dawn, there is a meal called Sehri, and after sunset, there is a meal to break the fast called Iftar. On Friday, April 5, EMU hosted an Iftar meal after sunset. I had the honor of being invited to attend EMU’s Iftar meal on Friday, the 5th. This experience was new; I grew up in the Mennonite Church in Lancaster County. I have some experience with Muslim practices. I learned about them in high school and college. I had never been to a mosque, and I had never been to an Iftar meal before. So when Trina Trotter Nussbaum, the Center for Interfaith Engagement (CIE) associate director, came to me with the opportunity to go to EMU’s Iftar, I was so excited. I love learning about holidays and traditions in different cultures and religions. I chose to come to EMU because of the diversity among students and the chance to hear different worldviews and cultures.

Nussbaum wanted to show what EMU is doing with the Valley Muslim Community Foundation (VMCF). This is the second Iftar meal held at EMU during Ramadan. Nussbaum said that EMU has partnered with VMCF for three to four years. Iftar officially starts when the sun goes down; I attended the meal about ten minutes early or so. When I got to the campus center where the dinner was being held, I was intimidated because I did not recognize anybody at first. I did not know what to expect going into this. I thought it would be a meal for about 20 people, but I was wrong. When I first got there early, about 15 or 20 people were there helping get set up. I did not recognize any of those people so I went over to some other EMU guests because I am an introvert. There were too many tables set up for the few people there, and then, when it was around 7:40 p.m., many people started to arrive. People just kept coming through the door, and before I knew it, there were about 50 people gathered in the main area of the Campus Center. The men went to sit in one area of the room, and the women sat in the other area of the room. Then Dr. Hamdan led a call to prayer, during which you would go up and eat a date and a bowl of soup to break the fast.

I forgot that this would be an excellent real date and not a processed date, so I took a big bite from it, forgetting about the pit in the center; let’s just say biting into the pit of a date is not a pleasant experience. The date was good, and the soup was terrific: a chicken broth with lentils and noodles. After everyone broke the fast, a mat was put out so people could pray on it. Before people started eating the main meal, Salat, the sunset prayer, occurred, which lasted for roughly five minutes. I had never seen a Muslim call to prayer or an Islamic prayer in person; I had only seen it in different forms of media. I was honored to be able to watch it; the prayer was fascinating, almost like a song or poetry. After the Salat, everybody started going through the buffet line to get food. The food was excellent and very interesting. I do not know what everything was called, but it was amazing. There was tea; there were many different kinds of chicken, rice, pastries, baklava, and pita bread. There was some curry, and I think there was hummus as well.

There was even pizza and packaged cakes. I was so full for the rest of the night, not just with my stomach, but full of this new experience I participated in. As I was leaving, they started their night prayer, which can take up to 45 minutes. This was an experience that I will treasure and remember. It was a kind and welcoming environment, and honestly, it was not all that different from a Mennonite potluck; one person, Jala, said, “Food is how we show one another that we love each other.” I think that is just how Mennonites tend to be; at least, in my experience with Mennonites, that is true. I again want to thank Trina Trotter Nussbaum for inviting me and the Valley Muslim Community Foundation for allowing me to participate in the Iftar and write about it.