Masdar Institute students gathered to share their culture and company at an on-campus iftar party held during the Islamic month of fasting Ramadan.
A total of 30 students attended the break-fast dinner, contributing their own cultural foods to the gathering, illustrating the cultural diversity of the institute’s 432-strong student body, which hails from over 60 countries.
The iftar celebration began at 7:13pm UAE time, when the maghrib call to prayer announced the end of the day’s fast. Muslims fast from sunrise till sunset throughout the holy month of Ramadan, which began on 6 June this year.
PhD student Mauricio Paton said: “The student iftar was a great opportunity to bring people together and it was nice to see a great variety of dishes that people brought. It was my first time in an Iftar event and it was an interesting opportunity to meet everyone. People who are fasting obviously go for more loaded kind of food after being without any food the whole day while those who do not fast should try to be a little bit lighter. But the food was so tasty that it was really difficult to avoid that!”
Water and Environmental Engineering student UAE National Kulthoum Ismail said: “This kind of iftar gathering shows others the way we treat guests and the kind of food we serve. This helps us to exchange or share our thoughts with other residents and form strong and lasting friendships with international students”.
Monika Capriles, visiting international PhD student from KTH Royal Institute of Technology at Stockholm, said: “This is my first time experiencing the Holy Month of Ramadan in a Muslim country. It was a very nice evening to get to know and share with the other students. In particular, it was very cool since people brought their home countries’ dishes; so it was a multicultural experience during Ramadan.”
The students shared food and stories about their communities and customs. They also discussed the challenges to fasting during the summer months, as well as the benefits.
Clarence Michael
News Writer
21 June 2016
