The Holy Month of Ramadan is expected to begin on Monday, April 12. As a result, Iftar time, the meal with which Muslims end their daily fast, will likely clash with university class timings across Education City universities, where classes can run till 7:20 p.m. Three weeks of Ramadan will occur while students are at university. Classes are scheduled to end at Northwestern University in Qatar on Thursday, April 22, with finals week scheduled to end on Thursday, April 29.

Students say they plan to manage the conflict between Ramadan and classes in various ways. “I plan to have very nutritional meals for Iftar and Suhoor, making sure that I eat enough and obviously stay hydrated. If I don’t eat well for Suhoor and Iftar, I won’t be able to focus on my classes,” said Nadia Al-Hinai, a sophomore at NU-Q.

Jude Liswi, a nutritionist, advises students to “stay hydrated during the eating window, and stay in a nutritionally balanced state. Good choices for [Iftar and Suhoor, a meal that Muslims consume before dawn and before they start their daily fast,] are proteins, veggies, fruits, yogurt, and dates.” Liswi added that feeling tired is normal during the fast, however, it should not stop students from managing their tasks if they get proper nutrition.

One of the ways students aim to manage their tasks and assignments during Ramadan is through the common method of sleeping during the daytime and working after Iftar time. Nevertheless, with classes during the daytime, such plans might not prove feasible.

“If I didn’t have morning classes I would probably sleep in till the afternoon then study for a few hours before Iftar and maintain a relatively normal schedule,” Kayan Khraisheh, a junior at NU-Q, said, adding that since that is not the case, her schedule will be disrupted. “I’m going to end up napping after my classes and studying at night.”

“It is going to be hard to manage our work, and seeing the workload and seeing deadlines while fasting, can really overwhelm us,” said Al-Hinai, adding that it might get tiring for students to stay on Zoom for more than one hour during the month. “I hope that university does something about classes in Ramadan.”

NU-Q released a statement from Senior Associate Dean and Chief Academic Officer Kathleen Hewett-Smith on Sunday, March 28, with regards to student concerns. The statement affirmed, “Classes will continue as scheduled, and all learning support services will continue to be available during Ramadan. Accommodation will be made for students in any classes that meet during Iftar.”

The accommodations planned were not specified, so students like Al-Hinai hope that these accommodations refer to shortened classes and allowing students to leave and come back between Iftar time. “I definitely think that classes should be shortened, at least the synchronous ones,” she said. “I think that classes that conflict with Iftar timing should be given some time in that class for students to go and have their Iftar and come back after that.”