Chelsea Bossert/Daily Mining Gazette Members of the Michigan Tech Muslim Students Association serve a traditional Middle Eastern and Asian meal Thursday to community members and their families at the Keweenaw Storytelling Center in downtown Calumet during the last night of Ramadan.

CALUMET — Families, Michigan Technological University students and community members gathered in downtown Calumet Thursday evening for a community meal celebrating the last night of the Islamic holy month, Ramadan.

The celebration took place at the Keweenaw Storytelling Center and included refreshments, bingo, an informative presentation about Islam and a fast-breaking meal. The event was put on in collaboration with the MTU Muslim Students Association and KSC operator, Rebecca Glotfelty.

In the Islamic faith, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, which typically lasts 29-30 days. This year, the end of Ramadan celebration, Eid, was on Friday.

According to Elaine Bacon Literacy Program Community Partner and organizer of the evening, Puti Ceniza Akbar, Eid is special this year because Muslims traditionally worship on Fridays — the timing could not be better.

Akbar, who moved to the Keweenaw four years ago, was excited to put on a community event bringing people of all faiths together to celebrate Ramadan and learn more about her religious beliefs.

“I always wanted to do the community gathering with the broader community, not only with Muslims,” she said. “I was very happy when Rebecca offered to use the Keweenaw Storytelling Center as a part of this gathering… it’s nice to see us, the Muslims, with the local people in here.”

Glotfelty is the executive director of the non-profit, Real People Media, which runs KSC in Calumet. She spoke about how people’s views of each other and negative perceptions we have can be remedied by a simple conversation over dinner.

“Having a meal together and being honored with somebody preparing a meal for you, it’s just something special,” she said. “People just need to get out and talk to each other… we have so much in common as human beings.”

The event was split between Muslim families and curious community members who wanted to learn more about Islam and support their neighbors. After the Over two dozen people gathered under KSC’s roof to dine on Arabic and Asian delicacies commonly eaten during Ramadan.

The Muslim Students Association at Michigan Tech is not only a student organization who celebrate Islamic holidays, they also help educate the Copper Country on topics about Muslims which they are not normally exposed to.

According to Akbar, MSA hosts many different events to help widen the understanding of Islam in the Keweenaw, including hosting workshops and events wear you can dry on different kinds of traditional Islamic clothing and coverings.

As a community partner with the Elaine Bacon Literacy Program, one of Akbar’s responsibilities is to educate people regardless of background. Portage Lake District Library supplied books and educational Islamic material to KSC for people to look at for Ramadan.

“With the Muslim Students Association, we try to be more active not only within our community but broader,” Akbar said. “Just stay curious and find a good resource about Islam, like the Portage Lake District Library, [they] provide a lot of good books.”

Participants finished their meals and cleaned up the space, Glotfelty was pleased with how the event turned out. She spoke about how proud she was to share other people’s cultures with the people of Calumet.

“I love learning about different cultures, I’ve learned so many things — about a way of life — but it’s exciting,” she said. “But that’s what drives me, I like learning about different things.”