Fasting to feed the hungry

Throughout September, Muslims around the world have been fasting from sunrise to sundown every day in honor of the month of Ramadan.

Today, the IU Muslim Student Union will host the annual Fast-A-Thon, asking non-Muslim students and community members to join them in their fasting for one day only to raise money for the community kitchen of Monroe County and spread awareness of the Muslim faith.

“Help feed the hungry,” said junior Farzana Bade of the MSU. “It won’t cost you a thing. All you have to do is not eat from sunrise to sunset.”

She and other MSU members have been organizing this annual event, called Fast-A-Thon, since the semester began. Already more than 350 people have pledged to participate in the day of fasting, which turns into support for the community kitchen.

For every person who makes the pledge, the kitchen receives either money or food donations from local businesses to help feed hungry people in Bloomington.

“We get people who don’t normally fast to fast with us,” Bade said. “It’s a representation of how it would be on a normal basis to not be able to eat.”

In the past, Fast-A-Thon has raised up to $1,500 for the Community Kitchen of Monroe County, said Executive Director Vicki Pierce.

“It’s a very helpful, wonderful event,” Pierce said. “It’s good to raise awareness of hunger, of Ramadan and of the Muslim faith in general.”

At the end of the day, the participants are invited to break the fast with a free meal. The food will be donated from Turkuaz Café, Bombay House, Casablanca Cafe, Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches and other restaurants.

This year the dinner is held at 7 p.m. in the Forest-Greenleaf Dining Hall and will also feature two speakers, one from the Community Kitchen and Muslim scholar Rodwan Saleh, who will talk about the importance of charity during Ramadan.

“We’re very lucky that a lot of businesses across campus are willing to participate in the event both for the donations to the community kitchen, as well as to the students who are going to eat at the end of the day,” Bade said.

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a time for prayer, reflection and self-purification. To fast means to abstain from ingesting anything during the hours of daylight.

Practicing Muslims eat breakfast in the early morning and dinner when the sun has set, but during the day, they do not eat or drink. MSU Vice President Aasiya Mirza said fasting for 30 days is spiritual for her.

“You get used to it, especially toward the end of the month,” Mirza said. “I get to feed on the spiritual meaning rather than food.”

Mirza said one of the most fulfilling things about Fast-A-Thon is seeing people who have never fasted before have similar spiritual experiences.

“A lot of them talk about the spiritual meaning that they get from it in knowing that there are some people fasting out of necessity every day,” she said.

Bade said organizing the event has been harder this year than in the past, but she expects a huge outcome of participants.

“We’re about level with what we were last year at the week before the event,” she said. “The stress is insane, but the outcome is 10-times more wonderful. Being able to know that you’re helping other people makes it worth it.”