Students fast to raise awareness for Ramadan

More than 200 participants refrained from food drink and negative thoughts and actions during the annual Fast-a-Thon on Thursday.

The Muslim Students Association Sangam the Arab Student Organization and other organizations sponsored the event" intending to raise awareness of the Muslim observance of Ramadan.

""Fast-a-Thon has an interfaith" outreach component to learn about Ramadan during this month" said MSA president Ola Mohamed. It's a time to build a sense of community.""

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar" in which Muslims are supposed to fast daily.

The event was a way for people to understand Ramadan firsthand by experiencing it through spiritual reflection" Mohamed said. That makes it more effective than talking about Ramadan in the Pit or showing people a PowerPoint.

""The idea is when you are required to not eat or drink" you're letting go of basic necessities or desires" she said. You're forced to think twice about calling someone out or complaining. You build self-discipline and self-evaluation. It's not a laundry list of things you can or can't do.""

The event also functions as a service project. Business sponsors donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Participants went hungry for one day so that someone else would not have to"" according to their slogan.

Mohamed explained that Fast-a-Thon was an experience that allowed people to ""try out and really understand"" Ramadan.

Helping others is central to the tradition of fasting" which dates back to the prophet Muhammad who gave food to the poor rather than feed himself.

At sunset" students broke fast together in the Great Hall and wrote down their thoughts about the experience.

""Fast-a-Thon means different things to people"" Mohamed said.

For some, all they could think about was their hunger or thirst. Sophomore Brian Pritchett said people around him were eating bagels and Chick-fil-A in classes, which made the experience difficult.

But most were able to eventually overcome their hunger and reflect.

At first I was ‘I'm really hungry"' but then I was able to prioritize what's really important" senior Danielle Allen said.

Some students said they realized that hunger for one day paled in comparison to those who go hungry almost every day. Before eating, students spoke of people overseas and down the street that go without food and might live on less than a $1 a day.

Sophomore Jack Brock, a business major, said he liked the fact that he was able to help others.

I think fasting is important because food is essential" he said. I have an Arabic and Econ exam tomorrow" but that stuff doesn't matter.""