A crescent moon glows from the top of A Mountain for everyone to see, signifying Ramadan and the start of devotion for the Muslim community.
Ramadan is a religious Muslim holiday celebrated on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. This year the sacred month lands from March 10 to April 9.
The month is marked by fasting, which is an act of worship, devotion and self-discipline. Those who fast do not eat or drink during sunlit hours, empathize with those less fortunate and purify the soul to be closer to God.
"Ramadan is a sacred month for us Muslims," said Wid Alsabah, a graduate student studying biomedical engineering. "We love when Ramadan comes in. It's as a guest coming in because it's just one month of a year and it holds so much significance because that's when the Quran was revealed."
Not only does the crescent moon signify the start of Ramadan, but it also represents support in the community.
"The moon actually plays an important role for all of us," said Mohammed Atif Syed Ali, a graduate student studying information technology, and the outreach director of the project and a board member of the Muslim Student Association. "It's showcasing that the city of Tempe (and) ASU supports all kinds of beliefs and all the community."
This Ramadan is the second showcase of the crescent in over 20 years, according to Alsabah. Back in the early 2000s, a plan wasn't implemented to make the showcase a tradition.
"It was not passed on to the next generations," Alsabah said. "I realized we want to do that as well. We want to go back and include just how it was included 20 years ago."
Last year's display was created by MSA and Alsabah, back when she was the president of the organization. This year's new moon was a project begun by Alsabah and the people she rallied together to work on the project.
Alsabah noticed A Mountain had displays of different religious communities throughout the year, such as the cross during Easter and the menorah during Hanukkah. This sparked her idea for the moon, according to Hudda Alkhaledy, the social media director of the crescent moon project and a senior studying nursing.
The project began about six months before Ramadan with help from multiple organizations, including the American Muslim Alliance, the Center of Muslim Experience in the US, the Islamic Community Center of Tempe, and MSA. Spencer Edgerton, the founder of Arkane Arts LLC in Tucson, and his team constructed and installed the moon.
The team working on the project also had help from the city of Tempe with installation permits and spreading the word.
Various organizations and the Muslim community contributed to fundraising for the new moon.
"This is done by students and was supported by students and was supported by the community," Alsabah said. "It was initiated as a student project and was supported by the community in general, the Arizona committee, and it's getting a lot of support from outside communities as well."
According to Alsabah, 1.6 million people see the moon as they walk by or are on the highway.
"I think when it comes to Muslim students, I think it creates inclusivity like we know that it's a religious month and it's hard and we're all still in college," Alkhaledy said. "So it's nice to just be able to see that so they might, you know, feel more welcome or have a safe space."
For other students from out of the country, seeing the moon brings a sense of home and comfort.
"I just get excited and it actually makes me feel happy because it has a huge impact on the local community," Atif Syed Ali said. "Especially after I placed the crescent moon, within a few minutes, many non-Muslims came to that moon and they started to learn more about Ramadan and more about Islam."
The crescent moon can be visited on A Mountain for the entirety of Ramadan. A plaque is also placed next to the crescent with information on what Ramadan is.
Edited by Katrina Michalak, Alysa Horton, Caera Learmonth and Angelina Steel.
Reach the reporter at sjames51@asu.edu and follow @sennajames_ on X.
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