Ohio University students and faculty engage in a day-long fast that ended with a feast and lessons about the meaning of Ramadan.
Alena Klimas couldn’t make it.
Klimas woke up Wednesday morning intending to fast from sunrise to sunset but soon succumbed to a granola bar.
As a participant of the Muslim Students Association’s Fast-a-Thon, she was invited to abstain from food, drink, medication and cigarettes.
Muslims and non-Muslims alike participated in a day-long fast Wednesday and ended with an iftar, meaning an evening meal to break the fast, as a way of experiencing Ramadan.
“It is just really hard. You don’t think about how much food matters,” Klimas, a junior studying global studies with a concentration in war and peace and political science, said.
She said she still saw her experience as successful.
After her slip-up, Klimas recommitted to her fast at 10 a.m. During the day, Klimas said she struggled being in the presence of food.
“I think it is really hard to fast in America with the food all around you,” she said.
As a fan of snacking herself, Klimas said she constantly has food with her, and not being able to eat it left her feeling sleepy.
Her fast ended at 5:50 p.m. when the sun finally went down, and she joined the rest of the event’s participants for a traditional Middle Eastern meal.
Fast-a-Thon took place in Baker Center Ballroom and acted as an adhan, or a call to prayer. Someone must “call to prayer” before breaking the fast during Ramadan.
To add to the educational aspect of the event, the association showed a video titled “Why do Muslims fast Ramadan?” According to the video, Ramadan is a month-long period of praying, fasting and giving to the poor. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Though many religions use fasting as a way to repent, Islam uses it to bring worshippers closer to God through self-control.
“This is just to spread awareness and try to connect the community,” Sanusi Shehu, a graduate student studying mechanical engineering who hosted the event, said. “The main goal is just for other people to experience what it’s like to fast — for them to learn why we Muslims must fast every year for a month.”
The Muslim Students Association has been planning the event for more than a year, Shehu said.
Waleed Almeshal, the association's public relations and media director, said more people were expected to attend Fast-a-Thon because efforts to spread the word seemed well-received, with students RSVPing on Facebook and in person. When the event started, only about 20 people sat in the audience. However, more people arrived late when dinner was about to be served.
“I really hope that in the future these kind of events grow. I think what Ohio University students need is a way to connect,” Klimas said.
With negative portrayals of Islam in the media, Klimas said it can be hard for students to find that connection.
At the end of Ramadan, an essential part is giving to the poor. In keeping with that tradition, the event encouraged participants to donate any food they would have eaten throughout the day to those in need.
“I think the main point of fasting is to sympathize with the people who don’t have food,” Klimas said. “And even just not eating makes you reflect on what it is like to miss a meal or what people without food go through.”
After the Muslim Student Association showed the video, the iftar began. Those who fasted were invited to eat first. Middle Eastern food, such as kabsa and hummus, was served. As students and faculty ate, speakers discussed the importance of fasting to the Islamic faith.
“That is the main essence of fasting — the enthusiasm,” Hashim Pashtun, president of International Student Union, said in a speech during the iftar. “When you’re fasting, you can go back and eat. No one’s going to judge you. No one’s going to look at you. ... The only person looking at me is God, and God does not care about you eating or not eating. What he cares (about is) can you control yourself for now?”
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