Ramadan at UNB Saint John

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Ramadan is an Islamic celebration that consists of a month long fasting that encourages the Muslim community to come together in prayer to mark their devotion to God and find spiritual healing.

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It occurs on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and changes every year aligning with the moon. The Saudi moon sighting committee or local mosques will announce when Ramadan occurs before the month of fasting commences. Observing Ramadan is an essential part of the Islamic faith as it is believed that it is the month by which the Holy Quran was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad. 

This year Ramadan will occur from Wednesday, March 22 and will carry through until Friday, April 21. The fasting process during this time happens between dawn to sunset to demonstrate loyalty to the Islamic faith. This means that Muslims abstain from eating and drinking – including water.

In support of this year’s Ramadan, the UNB Student Representative Council is partnering with Chartwells and Naan Ya Business to host Iftar at 7:39 for all of those who are observing Ramadan. This opportunity is only open to students from UNBSJ and Dal Med. Additionally, it will be reoccurring for the entire duration of Ramadan in the MPR (Mackay Residence). 

Current president of the SRC, Faseeh Khalil who will be observing Ramadan himself discussed the importance of this opportunity. He explained: 

“During this blessed month, we at the UNBSRC want to ensure the ease of our Muslim Students, who will be engaging in fast for 30 days. Ramadan is a month of spiritual contemplation, fasting, prayer, and charity.

We would like to thank our partners, Chartwells and Naan Ya Business for providing Iftar services for our students.On behalf of the UNBSRC, I would like to wish everyone Ramadan Mubarak.”

Head chef for Chartwells at UNB Saint John Sam Henderson, also shared what the partnership means to her:

“We are always happy to help and support all our diverse students on campus. This Partnership means, not only I and my team get to help those students, but we also get to learn more about cultures, foods and just the practice/celebration of Ramadan.” 

Ramadan Mubarak to all!

Ashley is a fifth-year student in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education concurrent program. Now in her final year, she hopes to further studies with the goal of promoting international advocacy for educational rights. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to her vinyl records, watching films, and hiking.