Muslims in Louisville — and across the globe — are preparing to start Ramadan.
It commemorates the first revelation of the Quran.
During the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, many Muslims fast during daylight hours, offer additional prayers, give donations, and connect with the community.
It culminates with Eid al-Fitr, a celebration commemorating the end of Ramadan.
A week before Ramadan was set to start this year, a group of volunteers gathered at Guiding Light Islamic Center to assemble Ramadan bags.
“There are communities that find it a little bit more difficult to break their fast in these very hard times,” said Mishkat Suleiman, one of the people who helped run the bag assembly and distribution.
The two customary meals during Ramadan are called Suhoor and Iftar. Suhoor is the meal Muslims eat before sunrise and Iftar is after sunset.
The bags started during the COVID-19 pandemic but continued beyond it because of demand.
They contain flour, sugar, cooking oil, tomato paste, bread, rice and dates—which are traditionally used to break fast.
“We try to keep in mind, you know, some of the ethnocentric dishes that people make within their culture,” said Suleiman.
Coming together as a community is a large part of Ramadan, and Islam in general.
“We're not in a Muslim country, and we recognize that, we also recognize that we have the privilege to have these communities because living in this country affords us that privilege, and so we really try to take advantage of coming together as a community as much as we can,” Suleiman said.
Mosques, Masjids in Arabic, and Islamic community centers across the city offer additional support like community iftars and extended hours for prayers during the month of Ramadan.
Hamza Foy runs “The Louisville Lip,” a newsletter curated for Louisville’s Muslim community.
He got the name from Louisville’s own Muhammad Ali, who was Muslim and earned the moniker for his penchant for poetic smack talk.
Foy said since his shahada, a declaration of faith in Islam, and becoming Muslim 18 years ago, the community has grown vastly.
“Back then, there were about four or five mosques,” Foy said. “Now there's over a dozen. A couple of them are large enough that they serve as community centers, and they're scattered across the city.”
Foy’s newsletter acts as a means to bring together various resources offered across the city.
“We have events that are being put on at the various mosques. We have ongoing programs,” Foy said. “So a lot of like Quran classes, a lot of recurring lectures as well as, we list job openings, career opportunities, a lot of relevant information from Louisville Metro government.”
Foy compiled a calendar of community iftar meals during the month of Ramadan. That information has been used to inform LPM’s Ramadan Guide for 2025.
Use the filters in the map below to find places in Louisville offering communal meals this Ramadan, as well as where to take part in Eid events. Click on the markers in the map for more information about each location.
What did we miss? Contact news@lpm.org with information about Ramadan resources we should add to this guide.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly described the Suhoor meal.
