‘Muslimahs Endure’ Celebrated Ramadan At Arabia

For 12 years, Muslimahs Endure has been getting women of Muslim faith outdoors and active, including at Arabia Mountain. 

For Muslims across Metro Atlanta, the holy month of Ramadan just ended. But for the past decade, one group has been celebrating the beginning and ending of Ramadan in a unique way, combining outdoor recreation, faith, and our neighborhood monadnock, Arabia Mountain.

“With this hike, we promote reconnecting with creation, so naturally, there is inherent respect for being out in nature,” said Nura Goodson, executive director and founder of Muslimahs Endure (ME), a recreation group for women of Muslim faith. According to the local nonprofit’s website, its mission is to empower women and their families to live healthy, active lifestyles through consistent movement, community connection, and faith-centered support. “It’s like a family reunion,” said Goodson. “We meet at the bottom, hike up together, have the fourth prayer of the day at the top of the mountain, and break our fast up there.”

Back in mid-March, Goodson and about 120 from her organization trekked up Arabia around sundown to celebrate Eid al-Fitr (March 19), the end of Ramadan’s month-long, dawn-to-dusk fasting. For Goodson, it marked not just a decade of doing this ritual with a group, but also a dozen years since she first started Muslimahs Endure as a way to get other Muslim women into recreation. A competitive runner for years, Goodson originally started the program as a running organization, inspired by an all-women Muslim race in Singapore created by GEMS Singapore. Goodson had originally reached out to GEMS about participating. But, surprisingly, the movement’s founder Efah Anuar convinced, or really challenged, Goodson to start her own race for Muslim women where she was based in Atlanta.

Thus was born Muslimahs Endure. “It was started to respond to the needs of the women in the area,” said Goodson. “And I noticed not a lot of women doing races.” Goodson participated in that very first run of just 6 people, walking a mile through the rain, well, really a drizzle. The next week, about a dozen showed up for the run. And it kept slowly but steadily growing from there, adding more offerings as Goodson saw fit, including a women’s only swim club, (“a real barrier for Muslim women,” said Goodson), and a tennis program, and even a dance program for young women. “Anything that gets people up and active,” said Goodson. “Muslimahs Endure even tries to provide childcare at our events, recognizing that affording it can be a barrier to getting physical time.”

As for her popular sunset hike and Eid al-Fitr feast at Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, that actually started at Stone Mountain in 2016. “I noticed a lot of the group’s elders got left near the bottom of the mountain because of the steep and strenuous hike; so that’s when Arabia Mountain came in,” said Goodson, who moved this Muslimahs Endure signature event to Arabia in 2019. “My boys have been doing it since ages 3 and 4. Now they are 14 and 15. The youth really look forward to this one. They pull their parents out.”

Over that time, Muslimahs Endure has grown as well to more than 400 members across Metro Atlanta. And the group recently expanded out-of-state, starting chapters in farther flung locations like LA and Philadelphia. This year also marked a big expansion for Goodson and her nonprofit, the hiring of several salaried staff, including coordinators for membership, volunteering, HR, and Leadership programs. Previously, the nonprofit had been completely volunteer-based.

While Ramadan is over for this year, and Nura said she feels rested, the pace of Muslimahs Endure just keeps picking up. Goodson and her staff are currently preparing for one of their other big signature events, 5K with ME on April 21. This one race raises funds for the organization, spreads awareness about its mission, and brings together local health-focused vendors or “wellness partners.” Goodman says it’s also a “celebration of sisterhood and healthy living.”

“Although we’ve been around 12 years, we’re just getting to a place about being very clear about who we are as an organization,” she adds. “This is the year of growth and stabilization and restructuring.”