![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260226_Iftar-8-1024x683.jpg\")
Attendees break their fast with dates during the Muslim Student Association\u2019s Grand Iftar on Feb. 26 at UT Arlington. The tradition is from Prophet Muhammad. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\nThis year\u2019s Ramadan season feels different for Fabiha Oyshi.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the civil engineering student\u2019s first year at the University of Texas at Arlington and her first time observing the holiest month of the Islamic faith away from home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the past, her Ramadan activities usually meant spending time with family in Southlake, often breaking their daily fast after sundown with her mother\u2019s home-cooked meals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Oyshi doesn\u2019t feel alone at college. She and her friend, Ayesha Manoa, gathered with fellow Muslim students on campus Feb. 26 for iftar, or a meal served at sunset during Ramadan to break the daily fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From mid-February to mid-March, Muslims across the world are observing Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, that is a sacred time observed with prayer, participating in charity, and partaking in daily fasts from food and water from sunup to sundown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRamadan is to be the best version of yourself,\u201d Oyshi said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Attendees break their fast with dates during the Muslim Student Association\u2019s Grand Iftar on Feb. 26 at UT Arlington. The tradition is from Prophet Muhammad. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Thursday evening\u2019s events, organized by the school\u2019s Muslim Student Association<\/a>, included a recitation of the Quran, a lesson from a local imam, duas, or invocations, and nasheeds \u2014 Islamic vocal music similar to a hymn. At sunset, about 250 attendees broke their fast with a date and some water before beginning prayer.\u00a0<\/p>\n The night marked the association\u2019s first iftar on campus during this year\u2019s Ramadan observances, said Lujain Al Fidaghee, vice president of the group. The student association plans to host one iftar each week of Ramadan, excluding spring break.\u00a0<\/p>\n The idea of hosting an iftar on campus came out of a desire to make observing Ramadan more accessible to students who spend long hours at UTA. Many international students are away from families, and those who commute are at school during the time they would typically break their fast, organizers noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a time to build community between different races, ethnicities and cultures that make up the Muslim community, Al Fidaghee added.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re like their home away from home,\u201d Al Fidaghee said. \u201cOur purpose is to provide a safe space for them to fulfill their obligations and also to feel welcomed.\u201d<\/p>\n Incorporating the long days of Ramadan into student life can be hard, said Fatimah Riaz, a junior studying information systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n She is up early to eat suhoor, the meal eaten before the sun rises. She then has a class at 8 a.m. and another at 9:30 a.m.<\/p>\n After sunset comes iftar and much praying. In addition to the usual obligatory night prayer, called isha, Muslims hold extra prayers during Ramadan, called taraweeh. Reading the Quran \u2014 which was revealed during Ramadan \u2014 is also common during the month.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re sleeping late, and then we\u2019re getting up super early \u2026 and then you can\u2019t really sleep during the day because we have school,\u201d Riaz said. \u201cIt\u2019s a whole cycle that you kind of have to get used to.\u201d<\/p>\n After a prayer after sunset, the students gathered inside a ballroom inside the E.H. Hereford University Center. Tables were adorned with blue tablecloths and tealight candles. A backdrop shimmered with string lights and silver letter balloons spelling \u201cRamadan Mubarak\u201d or \u201cBlessed Ramadan.\u201d<\/p>\n Inside the ballroom, students shared a meal of tabbouleh, mana\u2019eesh, kabuli pulao and other dishes as they caught up with friends, talking about classes and what it\u2019s like being a Muslim student.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to stay connected to people in the same faith during college because it can serve as a way to uplift and \u201cmotivate each other to be a better Muslim,\u201d Manoa said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just really nice having a group of people who share the same values and, like, you don\u2019t feel awkward celebrating. You don\u2019t feel judged,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really nice feeling comfortable in that space.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Muslim community at the university extends beyond Ramadan, Riaz said. She attended an Islamic high school. When she came to UTA, she sometimes felt alienated, praying by herself in a corner before realizing she didn\u2019t have to do it alone.<\/p>\n \u201cTransitioning here, I felt like, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m one of the only people in my class,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cBut especially with the community here, there\u2019s always little places around campus where people meet up to pray together.\u201d<\/p>\n Ramadan is not just about fasting \u2014 it is also a time to \u201cset yourself up for the year to be a good person\u201d and abstain from bad habits, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess Ramadan is a reminder for everyone,\u201d Riaz said. \u201cPeople think it\u2019s all about the food, it\u2019s about the fasting, but I think we\u2019re just trying to be better people.\u201d<\/p>\n Abdullah Moghal, a senior studying information systems and the public relations co-chair for the association, echoed this. Ramadan is like a cleanse after a year when the momentum from the previous Ramadan might have waned, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like Ramadan really grounds you,\u201d he said. \u201cIt makes you more appreciative of all the small blessings.\u201d<\/p>\n Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n McKinnon Rice is the higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Fort Worth Report partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.<\/p>\n The Report\u2019s higher education coverage is supported in part by major higher education institutions in Tarrant County, including Tarleton State University, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M-Fort Worth, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT Health Science Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260226_Iftar-3-1024x683.jpg\")
Attendees pray during the Muslim Student Association\u2019s Grand Iftar on Feb. 26 at UT Arlington. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260226_Iftar-5-1024x683.jpg\")
Public health sophomore Sumayya Sharif eats her meal during the Muslim Student Association\u2019s Grand Iftar on Feb. 26 at UT Arlington. As a commuter, Sharif said it was special to be able to break fast with her friends. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260226_Iftar-4-1024x683.jpg\")
Students grab food during the Muslim Student Association\u2019s Grand Iftar on Feb. 26 at UT Arlington. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260226_Iftar-7-1024x683.jpg\")
Auruba Islam, electrical engineering master’s student, talks with friends during the Muslim Student Association\u2019s Grand Iftar on Feb. 26 at UT Arlington. As an international student without family around, Islam said gatherings like these help her find like-minded people. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n