Lunchtime looks a little different for some students during Ramadan at Jennings Community Learning Center in Akron’s North Hill neighborhood.
While classmates line up for trays in the cafeteria, eighth grader Twah Mar sits quietly nearby, fasting without food and water until sunset.
She woke around 5 a.m. that morning for suhoor, the pre-dawn meal Muslims eat before the day’s fast begins — a daily routine for those observing the holy month. “Sometimes it helps when they let us go to another room,” she said. “It can be hard when other people are eating.”
Across Akron and the world, Muslims are observing Ramadan, the holiest month in Islam, marked by fasting from dawn to sunset, prayer and community gatherings. From middle school classrooms to college campuses and workplaces, the month often means balancing faith with the demands of daily life.
Twah said she began fasting gradually in middle school. “My parents started letting me fast around sixth grade,” she said. “Sometimes I would only fast half the day at first.”
Classmates are often curious about the practice.
“Not even water?” is a question Twah frequently hears.
Wesam Ahmed, also a Jennings eighth grader, said the first few days of fasting can be challenging, but it becomes easier with time. He prefers to join his friends in the music room during lunchtime.
Fazal Baryalai, a Farsi and Pashto interpreter at Jennings CLC, said those adjustments can make the day easier for students who are fasting. “A lot of kids get hungry around lunchtime because they’re used to eating then,” he said.
“Teachers sometimes invite them to another room so they don’t have to sit there watching everyone else eat.”
School staff prepare for Ramadan
Staff at Jennings CLC prepare for Ramadan before the month begins.
“At the beginning of the year, teachers identify the students who are fasting or need to pray during the day,” said Shahad Alattabi, an Arabic interpreter at Jennings CLC. During school days, when it is prayer time, teachers give passes to students who need to leave class for prayer in a designated room near the principal’s office.
Alattabi said those efforts help students feel supported. As a Jennings CLC graduate and current employee, she said the school has long worked to support Muslim students.
“Here, students feel understood and respected for their culture and religion,” Alattabi said. “I would encourage other schools to do the same, because it helps students feel comfortable and heard.”
Ohio law also recognizes religious observances for students. Under the state’s Religious Expression Days policy, public schools must allow students up to three excused absences each year for religious holidays, including Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan.
Fasting in the field
Ramadan observance also shapes the routines of students involved in athletics. Loujain Abuhashim, a junior at Nordonia High School and part of the youth group at the Islamic Society of Akron & Kent (ISAK), said fasting has become part of her routine both in school and in sports.
She currently plays flag football, with practices scheduled in the evening shortly after sunset, when Muslims break their fast.
Last year, Loujain competed in track during Ramadan, sometimes attending meets while fasting. “Sometimes I would break fast during practice. I would rinse my mouth with water,” she said.
She said coaches and teachers have generally been understanding. “They usually already know it’s Ramadan before I even say anything,” she said.
Fasting in college and at work
A similar balance plays out on college campuses.
Fasting during Ramadan often means balancing long lecture days, research work and daily responsibilities, said Hakem Altawil, a senior studying biomedical science at the University of Akron.
“The biggest difficulty is energy,” he said. “It can be hard to focus during long school days.”
Still, he said classmates and coworkers are often supportive when they learn he is fasting. “Sometimes people think we look angry or stressed,” he said with a laugh. “But we’re really just the same people — just without coffee.”
For Amena Akter, a dentist at Northeast Ohio Medical University, cooking before iftar can be challenging. Because her workday often ends close to sunset — the time Muslims break their fast — she sometimes prepares meals a day in advance in case she doesn’t have time to cook before returning home. When she can’t cook, she often joins community iftars at Akron Masjid — a mosque on Old South Main Street, where evening meals are shared during Ramadan.
The religious holiday encourages Muslims to be mindful of their actions and habits, said Yaseen Shaikh, director of public relations and outreach at the ISAK. “Ramadan calls on you to avoid more than just food and water,” he said.
Shaikh added that small gestures of support from neighbors, classmates and coworkers can make a difference. “If you have Muslim peers or colleagues, say ‘Ramadan Mubarak’ to them,” he said. “It helps people feel welcomed and understood.”