Ramadan is a holy month for those who celebrate it. Muslims around the world fast and pray during this month, and Barstow isn’t an exception.
“Ramadan for me is a time for reflection and silence. I try to silence my life and lead a more simple approach,” said Mr. David Muhammad, the Dean of Students in the Upper and Middle School.
Everyone has a different reason to observe the fleeting month but for most, it’s about their spiritual connection. “Ramadan, for me, is like a time of self reflection and to be with family and friends and develop good habits,” vocalized Rania Ahsan ‘27. “The last five nights, my family and I stay up really late to pray and do activities like cooking together,” she said.
The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar calendar, so Ramadan varies from 30 to 31 days. Those allotted days are sectioned off into three, 10 day periods. The first ten days are the Days of Mercy, the middle ten are for forgiveness, and the last ten days are for safety for the afterlife. Sometimes people tend to stay up during those days and pray till sunrise.
While Ramadan may be difficult, due to the long 14 hour fasts, it is also a joyous time as Muslims celebrate throughout the month. “For Ramadan, me and my family, we typically decorate the house with banners and lights and lamps, we try to make it a festive time especially for our kids. We have a calendar and each day we give [the kids] a task to do and if they do that good deed they get a treat. Also it’s kind of a mini celebration when you break your fast. So it’s always out for dinner and community type events,” explained Mr. Muhammad.
Recently, Barstow has been trying to include celebrations and spread awareness for those in our community, and this year they’ve made leaps and bounds of progress. “This year, the representation has been over the top and I support that. I think the reason for a lot of that is because of Mr. Muhammad and all the effort he put into that and into supporting it,” Ahsan ‘27 divulged. In past years, Barstow has very rarely shed light on Ramadan and other religious holidays that aren’t as widely recognized in the United States. This year we had a fast-athon and hopefully, in coming years, we will have an Eid celebration.
Another hero in our community would be Mr. Gaffney, who shut down the Buck Store to support students who were fasting. “It was in empathy towards those observing Ramadan. It would’ve been in poor taste to be selling snacks and other things to kids while there’s a portion of kids who were trying to fast. I think we will also continue to do that [in coming years],” Mr Gaffney stated.
He said that he also observed room for growth in our representation of the month. “Another thing would be to make sure that those holidays are on the calendar when things like middle school dances. We had a discussion last week with students from different backgrounds asking about how they feel about the environment at school and when there are activities that are for the whole student body where a portion can’t go because they’re celebrating a holiday. I think it affects the community we are trying to create here,” he explained.
For the second year in a row, the middle school dance was scheduled during Ramadan. When we don’t account for important holidays, like Ramadan and Shabbat (the Jewish sabbath), students will be left out of events that every kid should be able to attend.
Needless to say, we have made immense progress in our inclusion since adding resources like a middle and upper school Muslim Student Association, but Barstow still has a lot of work to do!
