GREENSBORO, N.C. — Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It started on March 22 for many Muslims and is observed worldwide. 

What You Need To Know

  • Ramadan, for many Muslims, started March 22 and is expected to end April 20

  • Jackson Middle School in Greensboro offers a makers space for Muslim students during lunch time

  • The students are looking forward to the Eid holiday after Ramadan end

Muslim students at Jackson Middle School in Greensboro describe the monthlong holiday as a time when they better themselves and get stronger with their faith. 

“It's a month where we think about ... what we say and we build patience,” Zainab Saley, an eighth-grade student, said. 

It’s a time of fasting, prayer and reflection, and since students observing the holiday are abstaining from food and drink, some schools have dedicated spaces for them to go during lunchtime because it can be hard seeing their classmates eat while they cannot. 

Students at Jackson Middle have been going to the media center during lunch, and they say they prefer it to being in the cafeteria. 

“I actually think it's really comfortable because it's away from all the kids eating and we feel more safer in this area,” Heba Elbadwuy, a sixth-grade student, said.

Fatima Saley, an eighth-grader, said, “Being in the lunchroom with them [other students] can sometimes be kind of stressful."

While in the media center they can do arts and crafts, read, hang out with friends and even pray if they want to. 

The students say they are looking forward to the Eid after Ramadan ends.