Celebrating alone

The double doors of the Food Zoo were firmly shut at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Inside, the last of the straggling diners deposited their empty dishes and departed, with freshly satiated stomachs. But for Muslim students observing Ramadan, it would be 16 more minutes before they could break their day long fast.

Ramadan, the holiest holiday on the Islamic calendar, requires Muslims to abstain from eating or drinking after sunrise and before sunset during the monthlong celebration. 

For Muslim students attending the University of Montana, it was something of a struggle in the past to find a warm meal on campus that was halal, or permissible to eat under Islamic law, after dark, because Food Zoo stops serving dinner at 7:30 p.m.

To help combat this issue and better serve Muslim students, the UM Dining Services added a late-night dining component in 2009. According to Director of Dining Services Marc LoParco, students may come into the Food Zoo during the day, choose their food from indicated halal options and hand it to Dining services staff, who will then keep it heated. After the start of the evening meal, called Iftar, the Food Zoo stays open for an additional 45 minutes for the students to come back and claim their meals.

"It's one of those things where it's reasonable for us to provide it as it doesn't cost any more money for us to stay open, but it's up to the individual student on whether or not to use it," LoParco said.

Yet LoParco said that Dining Services does little to advertise this service and that very few students use it.

According to dining services employee Eli Hunt, only two students created and stored meals on Monday evening, while no one did on Tuesday.

"If no one comes in early and orders, we close," Hunt said, as a flurry of maroon-shirted employees began cleaning the cavernous dining hall behind him.

While many Muslim students appreciate the Dining Service's allowance, the holiday often still feels lost in translation at UM. For them, a packaged meal that has sat on a warmer for an hour or two is a far cry from the celebratory feast they would have experienced at home.

Mazzien Al, a graduate student in finance from Saudi Arabia, said a highlight of the holiday for him is gathering with his family and sharing a good meal. He said Ramadan, with its specially-prepared food, is in some ways akin to the American Thanksgiving, albeit on a larger scale.

"The whole afternoon, my sisters and my mom are making all kinds of food," he said. "After sunset each night, we start eating all together and that's what is special about it."

While at home earlier this summer, Al said that his family often ate at different times, but for Ramadan, which began Aug. 11, "all of us ate together."

Al's voice takes on a special lilt when recalling the immense spread of food prepared at home.

"There are all kinds of special foods for Ramadan that differ from area to area," he said, ticking off a menu common to his region that is full of different meats, soups, breads and sweets.  

Now, halfway around the world from home, Al is trying to compensate for his absent family and their shared meals. He sometimes cooks, but says the stress and obligations of the new semester detract from his efforts.

"I took some recipes from my family and sometimes with friends, we share it, but school time doesn't really put me or other people in a good mood to make good food, have a good time and share it with each other," he said.  

While Al hasn't been to the Food Zoo for a while, he has sampled several of the halal food items available on campus.

"I've tried the halal burger they have at the Country Store," he said. "It's all right." 

Yet the trials that come along with observing Ramadan will soon end as only eight days remain. The holiday concludes with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr on Sept. 10. 

"It doesn't mean, ‘Oh, we're finally done with Ramadan,' but it's a celebration for friends, families and relatives visiting and celebrating with each other and having a big meal, usually lunch," Al said.

Furthermore, because Ramadan falls according to the lunar calendar, it will begin next year on Aug. 1 and end Aug. 30, allowing for very little overlap with the UM academic calendar.

In the meantime, Al remains patient, despite his hunger pains.

"I'm usually hungry and my stomach doesn't really help me," he said, "but now the sunsets are getting earlier and earlier, about two minutes every day."

erin.cole@umontana.edu