The Muslim Student Association is in the works of planning their fourth annual Malcom X Solidarity Iftar, set for March 14, at 6 p.m., in the Memorial Union Horizon Room.
The event, open to the public, will host a live speaker, Sarah T. Hamid, who works with the intersection of technology and conflict.
Fatima Rashid, the club’s president, is excited to see the event come together. She and the other officers of the club worked to start the club back up after it lost momentum during COVID-19. The Malcom X Iftar began in 2017, but this is only its fourth year running.
The event aims to include the non-Muslim community of Oregon State University as well as its Muslim community.
Rashid is a senior studying biology with a pre-med option and has made the engagement of a broader community a priority of hers within the club.
Ramadan, beginning the evening of March 10, is an Islamic holiday occurring during the ninth month of the Isalmic calendar. According to Rashid, it is a time for a community to come together. Because of that, there are no tickets or limitations to who is able to attend the Iftar.
This year, the event is hosting a new collaboration with the MSA club at the University of Oregon, and continues to collaborate with the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center.
“We tried to make it as open as possible and also give opportunities for people who are practicing Muslims to also bring their friends who are maybe not as informed about Islam to kind of learn more about Islam and learn about how we do Ramadan and our fasting and everything,” Rashid said.
Rashid said having an established community is important.
“Inviting people to learn more about our different religious practices and everything is important to us, too,” Rashid said. “There can be some misunderstanding, with our religion and everything. And I think educating people is one of the goals of our club, so I think it’s important.”
The club is also hosting a day in the life series in the first week of spring term where non Muslim students can try fasting for Ramadan for a day.
More information about the event can be found here.
