About 130 Northwestern community members gathered in Norris University Center’s Louis Room for the Muslim-cultural Students Association’s annual Eid al-Fitr banquet Tuesday evening.
Eid al-Fitr celebrates the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims. Weinberg sophomore and McSA Administrative Co-Vice President Yalmaz Javaid said the holiday allows loved ones to come together.
“It is also a meaningful time because you get to reflect on the past month of Ramadan –– what you did better, what you changed in your lifestyle and how you can apply that to outside of Ramadan,” Javaid said.
The event opened with a Quran recitation and translation, which was followed by co-hosts Weinberg first-year Daria Chernyshova and Javaid introducing the new McSA 2026-27 board members.
Ustadha Lena Tleib, the founder of Shaded on the Day of Judgement, a nonprofit organization aiming to spread Islamic knowledge, spoke afterward about Eid al-Fitr’s significance.
“All that hard work came to this celebration, and that’s why it’s a beautiful celebration,” Tleib said, citing the challenges of fasting from dawn to sunset during Ramadan.
NU community members attended the event wearing a variety of cultural and religious clothes, from pashmina hijabs to thobes.
Weinberg first-year Eman Abedelal wore a purple abaya, a piece of traditional Muslim clothing.
“For Eid, you’re supposed to wear your nicest, newest fits,” Abedelal said.
The banquet offered a selection of Middle Eastern dishes including fattoush salad and kebabs.
McCormick senior Zeeshan Razzaq, a McSA member since freshman year, said he loved trying the food and particularly liked the kebab dishes.
“I got a little bit of almost everything,” he said.
As attendees finished their plates, McCormick seniors Ruba Ahmed-Abdelmutalab and Nasser Issa gave speeches about their time at NU.
Abedelal said while Ramadan is a cause for celebration, she is still thinking of other members in the Muslim community who have ties to the Middle East.
“Not only are a lot of us from these areas, but as Muslims, when one part of us is going through hardship, we’re all going through hardship,” Abedelal said.
Still, Abedelal said she is “keeping them in (her) prayers” and is grateful for the community she has at NU.
Chernyshova, who told attendees she reverted to Islam in November, said she found support through McSA.
“I’m very blessed to have my first Ramadan with a community of such incredible people,” Chernyshova said. “My family’s not Muslim, and I don’t think that outside of NU I would receive so much support.”
While Eid al-Fitr is a Muslim celebration, McCormick first-year and McSA Director of External Relations Zaid Hasan said he hopes everyone can attend these community spaces.
McSA’s Eid Picnic with the University of Chicago’s Muslim Students Association will take place April 19.
“Muslim or non-Muslim, Arab or non-Arab, freshman, sophomore, junior, senior — it doesn’t matter,” Hasan said. “Anyone can come together to celebrate.”
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