Muslim Student Union raises money for kitchen with Fast-a-thon

More than 150 people were packed wall-to-wall in the Greenleaf Room of Forest Quad on Wednesday night, participating in the Muslim Student Union's annual Fast-a-thon. The program, which involves participants voluntarily fasting for one day and then eating a large meal after dark, is held during the holy month of Ramadan.\nThe event centers around a major facet of Ramadan: refraining from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk for 30 days. The Fast-a-thon also raises money for the Community Kitchen of Monroe County since local businesses donated money for each participant who signed up.\nJunior Khalid Ali, the group's publicity chair and event co-coordinator, said he was excited by the dinner's attendance. The group's goal was to raise $1,000. Going into the night, they already had more than $850, so members were confident they'd reach their goal.\n"We're pretty happy with the turnout," Ali said. "It was actually pretty packed -- the side (of the Greenleaf Room) that we intended to fill up. ... It was a good turnout."\nJunior Myeda Hussain, public relations coordinator for the Muslim Student Union and event co-coordinator, said she was delighted by the number of people who came to the dinner.\n"It's a really, really amazing feeling," Hussain said. "It just warms your heart to see how many people actually came out here for the event."\nThe purpose of the fasting is not purely physical, said guest speaker Louay Safi of the Islamic Society of North America.\n"Fasting, on the surface, appears as deprivation," Safi said in his speech. "The essence of fasting, I would like to argue, is spiritual renewal."\nSafi said fasting exemplifies the Five Pillars of Islam. Fasting teaches purity and self-control and encourages people to be charitable towards people who go through the day without food because they cannot afford a meal.\n"Fasting comes as a way to train ourselves to commit ourselves to uphold the values of Islam," Safi said. "Through experience, the meanings of fasting become apparent to us."\nSenior Dustin Holland said participating showed him a different perspective on other religions.\n"I'm Catholic, and there's really no religious holiday that calls for (fasting), so I kind of got to see what Jews and Muslims do (during religious holidays)," Holland said. "I definitely felt like it took a lot of self-control."\nThe program opened with remarks by Muslim Student Union President Khalil AbuGharbieh, and a Quranic recitation by El-Amin Sharif. Then Safi and Tim Clougher, director of the Community Kitchen, spoke before everyone broke the fast.\nAli said the Muslim Student Union tried to get "an eclectic mix" of food options for participants. He said dinner included Arab, Moroccan and Italian food, with pizza also provided.\nSafi said the mental and spiritual effects of fasting were beneficial.\n"It is not the rituals; it is what we get out of them," Safi said. "We hope that by the end of the 30 days, we can grow closer to God."\nHussain said she believed dinner went smoothly that she was pleased with the entire event.\n"I would say that it was a great success," Hussain said. "And we couldn't have done it without all of our participants, so thank you to all of them"