Fast, then feast

While many students are enjoying fine dining in the dining halls this October, Muslim students throughout Bloomington attended a Fast-a-thon to break yesterday's fast in the holy month of Ramadan.\nThe Fast-a-thon, which took place in the Greenleaf Dining Hall in Forest Quad, was sponsored by the Muslim Student Union and raised more than $1,000 to give to Bloomington Community Kitchen. The goals of the MSU were to make the IU community more aware of Ramadan and to give charity to the community, MSU vice president and senior Shahaab Uddin said.\n"A big part of our religion is giving to charity, so this in turn allows us to incorporate both of those into one event," Uddin said.\nThe MSU was very proud of the turnout and the amount of donations given, said Fast-a-thon coordinator and graduate student Khazir Ali. Ali also said the Bloomington Community Kitchen was chosen because the MSU wanted to stress that hunger and poverty aren't just occurring in places such as Africa, but are happening here in the local community.\nThis reasoning also prompted the MSU to use local sponsors such as Pizza Express, Little Tibet, Turkuaz Café and Falafels.\nAbout 500 people signed up to take part in the fast and support the Fast-a-thon. The attendees were comprised of not just Muslim students, but other IU students and members of the community who are not part of the Islamic faith. Because of this, the MSU is very pleased with the positive response and awareness it is receiving, MSU President Ozair Shariff said.\n"I definitely think that the Muslim community here is growing," Uddin said. "We're getting more and more students involved, including those that aren't Islamic, so I feel as if we're getting a more diverse group every year."\nThough the MSU is pleased with the turnout at the Fast-a-thon, some students still have the feeling as if they are not getting the same religious recognition as Christian and Jewish students. The general feeling among Muslim students, though, is that events such as the Fast-a-thon increase awareness and make more people sensitive to when Islamic events come up, Uddin said.\n"I don't think that students are being left out of recognition because I think that most Muslim students have really found a strong sense of community," Shariff said. "That being said, I really can't speak for every student."\nNo incidents of hate crimes have been reported against Muslims this academic year, Ali said. But, in July, a suspect broke a window in the Bloomington mosque near campus and poured a flammable propellant into the building that ignited it. The fire caused little damage to the building, but the FBI is still investigating the case. \nThis year's Ramadan has not really been affected because of the incident, Ali said.\n"There hasn't been that much of an impact from the firebomb last year because we try not to worry too much about those kinds of things," Ali said. "The community is pretty good this year. We haven't had any incidents like that, especially during this month, so I think that the community as a whole is pretty tolerant"