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On Sunday morning, Hendricks Chapel was filled with overlapping prayer rugs, as a crowd of adults and students joined together to mark the end of Ramadan. Imam Amir Durić led the group in prayer and delivered a sermon focusing on unity and gratitude.

“As we celebrate the completion of the blessed month of Ramadan, being grateful will bring us good in this world and get us closer to the righteous ones in this dunya (present world),” Durić said in his sermon.

Muslim students broke their fast at Hendricks Chapel during the Muslim Chaplaincy’s annual Eid al-Fitr prayer and brunch. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.

Ramadan is one of the most sacred months in Islam; it marks the month that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. This year, the month fell from Feb. 28 to March 29, marking a period of fasting from sunup to sundown.

Eid al-Fitr presents an opportunity for Muslims to come together at the end of a physically demanding month and celebrate their accomplishment through community, Durić said.

“You just see how students are engaging with each other, how they’re sharing that happiness, exchanging hugs, sharing peace, but then also celebrating really hard work that they put in over 29 days,” Durić said.

A main focus of Ramadan is building empathy for those who are suffering, Asil Bascal, the president of the Muslim Student Association, said. Voluntary fasting creates a tangible empathy for people who may go without resources like food and clean water.

Charity is also emphasized during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr; donating a meal to someone in need the night before is a traditional part of Eid al-Fitr celebrations. This kind of charity, given at the end of the month, is called Zakat al-Fitr. Muslims also participate in sadaqah, voluntary charity, throughout the month.

Fatma Zehra Çağil, a graduate student at SU and member of the MSA, explained that charity is a way to participate in Ramadan for those who are unable to fast; if Muslims give charity, they can be forgiven for not fasting. Zehra Çağil said that she and other Muslims aim to give charity in proportion to the size of their family by giving enough to feed a family the size of their own.

“We give sadaqah, which (can be) even a small amount of money, any help to any other human being, regardless of their race and religion, that will be all accounted as a charity,” Zehra Çağil said.

Muslim Syracuse University students gather at Hendricks Chapel for prayer. Eid al-Fitr, the prayer and meal, marks the last day of Ramadan, a sacred month in Islam.Avery Magee | Asst. Photo Editor

Zehra Çağil said MSA has provided her a sense of belonging away from her home in Turkey, and a valuable way to express herself in a non-Muslim country.

The Muslim community at SU is diverse, with around 300 Muslim students each semester coming from 31 countries, Durić said. Friday services usually garner an attendance of 130 to 150 students, and iftars, which are sundown meals to break fast during Ramadan, had consistent attendance, he said.

SU offers prayer spaces for Muslim students to observe daily prayers. When choosing a college, SU stands out to practicing Muslim students because of these resources and the robust community, Durić said.

But despite the strong community and resources at SU, Muslims are still a minority community at the university, which presents cultural and personal challenges for students. Drinking is haram, or forbidden, in Islam, which runs against the drinking culture at SU, Bascal said. She said it was reassuring to find a group of students through MSA that also didn’t participate in drinking.

Durić said he works to guide students feeling out of place through his chaplaincy at Hendricks.

“Personal issues and needs can come up with navigating their faith in a college setting, being part of a PWI where sometimes they are not best understood, or where dynamics are not always friendly,” Durić said.

For Muslim students, the month of Ramadan can look different at SU than what they’re used to at home. Ramadan is traditionally a communal month, with family iftars and community gatherings at mosques. Hendricks Chapel and MSA work together to help give Muslim students a home away from home, Durić said.

“(The) Muslim campus community is that family away from home, where they really are able to connect with those who share the same values, who share this joy and happiness of (Ramadan), but also where they are able to be themselves,” Durić said.

Muslim man leads prayer at Hendricks Chapel’s Eid al-Fitr celebration. Ramadan commemorates the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad, and is the holiest month in Islam. Avery Magee | Asst. Photo Editor

Bascal has been involved in MSA since she arrived on campus as a freshman, when she said she worried about how she would observe Ramadan away from home. Suhoors, meals at sunup during Ramadan, are often eaten as early as 4 or 5 a.m. when dining halls aren’t open, Bascal said. Even when dining hall food was available, the experience was a stark contrast from sharing a home-cooked meal with family, she said.

The overarching purpose of Ramadan is to bring Muslim people closer to God, and Bascal said she felt she was able to hold herself more accountable when she was at school. Celebrating Ramadan in a more independent way can benefit students, she said.

“I think it makes you appreciate it more, and it makes you really feel like you’re doing it for yourself,” Bascal said.

Campus life also presents challenges for students when class times conflict with prayer times. Durić said one of the biggest challenges for Muslim students who practice daily prayers is choosing between sacrificing their academic performance or sacrificing prayer time. Halal dining options can also be limited, creating challenges for students who follow the diet.

In the future, Durić said he hopes the university will create dedicated prayer time for Muslim students, so they don’t have to choose. Durić also said recent focus groups have helped improve halal dining on campus, and that the suggestions were well received.

“Muslim students appreciate the effort and improvements that are made,” Durić said. “We hope we will be able to add some things down the road as well.”

Published on March 30, 2025 at 10:51 pm
Contact Charlotte: cprice04@syr.edu