The traditional themes of charity and community will be on particular display throughout this year’s Ramadan celebration.
To celebrate this year’s Muslim holy month — which kicked off in North America on Aug. 12 — the Muslim Students Association is inviting non-Muslims to honor Ramadan’s pillars of community and charity.
During the next two weeks, the group will be hosting events ranging from potluck dinners to pre-dawn prayer sessions.
On Sept. 8, the community will be able to take part in charitable events, and students will raise money for flood relief in Pakistan through the Fast-a-Thon.
The event is a potluck dinner where participants will gather to break their fasts collectively at the Sept. 10 conclusion of the North American Ramadan
calendar.
The group will also be serving six post-sunset meals called iftars in the Student Union and two pre-dawn prayer breakfasts called suhurs at Hooker Field.
“The biggest thing is to connect with the Quran and spiritually with God,” said Muslim Students Association President Sana Kahn.
The dinner acts as an opportunity for the group to raise money for charities. Last year, Fast-a-Thon raised $1,400 for the Islamic non-profit Project Downtown, Kahn said.
This year’s proceeds, raised from a mixture of friends, relatives and local businesses, will go towards Pakistani flood aid through the charity Islamic Relief.
