“Iftar” Meal for CJCU Muslim International Students to Strengthen the Bonds

CJCU Muslim international students from Africa, Bangladesh, and Japan gathered on May 10 for their “Iftar”, the evening meal in Ramadan. With globalization, there are a growing number of international students attending CJCU each year. Some of these students are Muslims. MFM Amir Khashru, a Muslim Ph.D. student studying in Business and Operations Management at College of Management, invited the CJCU Muslim international students from Africa, Bangladesh, and Japan to CJCU Eco-Center for the “Iftar”, the meal to end the Muslims’ daily Ramadan fast at sunset, to strengthen students’ relationships by getting to know each other further.

Amir is the former General Manager of the Yunus Center in Bangladesh. Currently, he is also one of CJCU’s part-time instructors. Muslims, indicated by him, are forbidden to consume food or drink water during the day time in the Ramadan. They must closely conform to the norms and pray. After sunset, it is the time for families to get together and have the Iftar. May 10th happened to be the Mother’s Day in many countries while Muslim believe every signal day is Mother’s and Father’s day. Although, there are no special celebrations for Muslim on that day, they can also take the opportunity to show their appreciation for their parents’ teaching and support while having the Iftar at CJCU.

CJCU is founded as a Christian university, but we respect different religions and beliefs at the campus. Even though the number of Muslim students at CJCU is not big so far, CJCU is still actively creating a culturally inclusive environment. The goal is to let every CJCU students with different backgrounds from all over the world be able to promote their cultures, strengthen their beliefs, and deal with their daily needs while their studies and researches are in progress.