On Thursday, March 14, Fordham University’s Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) hosted an inaugural Fordham In Community (FIC) Iftar, which is the meal Muslims eat to break their fast when the sun has set during Ramadan. Fordham CCEL and the Fordham Rose Hill Muslim Student Association (MSA) students had created a “Fordham Community Effect,” the purpose being to bring together the Fordham community of faculty, staff, students and local mosques around the area. CCEL focused on bringing together communities from outside Fordham and nonprofit partners as well.
In the process of the FIC Iftar, CCEL partnered with MSA to put the event together. Students were heavily involved in planning, setting up and deciding the theme. There was also collaboration with local mosques including the Bronx Muslim Center located in Morris Park, which is in the Little Yemen area; the Masjid Ar-Rahman, a predominantly West African Gambian mosque; and the Belmont Islamic Center, a predominantly Albanian mosque a few blocks from campus. CCEL also collaborated with Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Relief USA.
According to their website, “ICNA Relief provides help to the underprivileged and underserved in 42 states and 1,230 locations nationwide.” Local masjids (mosques) and ICNA Relief USA contributed to the event. ICNA Relief USA provided dates for attendees to break their fast, a tradition Muslims follow when breaking fast with water. The imam of Masjid Ar-Rahman conducted the adhan (Islamic call to prayer) and recitation in leading prayer in congregation. The Belmont Masjid gave a speech on the importance of Ramadan and balance. CCEL encouraged each mosque to tell their community members to invite the local Bronx Muslim community. Campus co-sponsors were involved as well; this includes Campus Ministry, the theology department of Rose Hill and the Islamic studies program. Dr. Sarah Eltantawi of Islamic studies coordinated the program. The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), the Center for Religion and Culture and corresponding departments at Fordham shared a flier for the FIC Iftar, and helped with promotion and set up for the Iftar.
The idea for the FIC Iftar sprung from CCEL: “Our work is community engagement. We often organize roundtables, events and summits for the community. FIC is a collaboration between Fordham University at [CCEL]the Center for Community Learning and our local nonprofit partners. CCEL is a collaborative group of organizations and nonprofits in the area that work with Fordham to put on different programs and events, like the back-to-school drive we do every year as well as environmental justice summits,” said Kujegi Camara, assistant director for Community Engagement and Operations.
Serene Rhonado led the Fordham community initiative that brought the idea to do a Community Iftar that invited both the campus and local communities. “Breaking bread for them, and inviting them to Fordham to be a part of the community, a way to invite people and also just celebrate Ramadan and celebrate our Muslim community and our Muslim students. So that’s the idea behind doing this. It’s important for CCEL to bring people together,” said Camara. “It is a multi-led effort not just leading but working in collaboration. This is when CCEL reached out to MSA about an Iftar to bring together [the] community and have MSA involved. All planning details flowed thereon.”
“CCEL reached out to us to collaborate on this Iftar with them. Our role was to decide the theme, come up with what food to cater, decorate and do some programming. I gave CCEL some restaurant ideas, picked out the decor for the event, designed the table cards and emceed the event,” said Hjer Meranda, FCRH ’24. “I loved the Community Iftar. I think it went lovely and everyone I’ve spoken to has shared the same sentiment. Many non-Muslims attended, which I loved because we’re educating more people on Islam and its teachings. I will not be at Fordham next year, but I know the MSA E-Board would love to do this again and I hope it becomes an annual event. I hope attendees got more exposure to the Muslim community around them such as the wonderful mosques that surround campus. I also hope attendees develop an interest in Ramadan and what it entails that will push them to do more research. For the Muslims, I hope they realize they are supported and loved at Fordham and that they have a community here. I hope that they realize they don’t have to spend Ramadan alone”
The event took place in the Great Hall with more than 150 attendees. Fordham students and their families were present. Fordham faculty, undergraduate, Muslim and graduate students were in attendance. Theology professor Sarah Eltantawi invited her class to attend as well. Students of different faiths, local masjid community members and Fordham partners and organizations were present.
“It was a beautiful display of the Muslim and Fordham community,” said Camara.
During programming some of the students were able to present reflections on Ramadan thus far. Imam Haco from Belmont Masjid spoke on “Balance in Ramadan.” Attendants said a closing duʿāʾ(prayer/supplication) for all the people who are oppressed in the world and for all of us to have a good and rested Ramadan. Camara said, “We tried to capture food from a lot of different cultural traditions that are Muslim. We had Albanian food — spinach and cheese byrek, Gambian and West-African food, South-Asian food — samosas, vegan vegetable rolls, rice, lamb and chicken and more. A good number of Albanian community members had joined from [the] Belmont Islamic Center., as well as Middle Eastern desserts from Damascus. All food we catered from is from the Bronx because we wanted to make sure we were supporting Bronx-based businesses. Muslims come from all over the world and we wanted to emphasize that with our food.”
CCEL made sure students could emcee the event as it is their campus and make them feel it’s their event. “And we hope we can continue this tradition hopefully in each Ramadan and continue to build and create a community there for all,” said Camara.
CCEL hosted this event back in 2022, this is the first time the event was hosted at Rose Hill. The previous FIC Iftars were hosted at Lincoln Center. Previous years’ FIC Iftar was an interfaith Iftar. In 2023, CCEL hosted an interfaith Iftar/panel. This took place in the month of Faith Fest which celebrated multi-faith during Ramadan and took place at Lincoln Center.
