Students raise money by fasting

from The Daily Targum

By skipping meals sunrise to sunset, participants give funds for humanitarian aid in Darfur, Sudan
By: Esther Liu / Contributing Writer

Non-Muslims at the University will fast for a cause Oct. 9 during Fast-A-Thon, a charity event seeking to raise funds for the people in Darfur, Sudan.

The event - whose tagline is "Skip a Meal, Save a Life" - coincides with Ramadan, an Islamic religious holiday where Muslims all over the world are required to fast from sunrise until sunset for an entire month.

"We select a charity every year and we raise money for that charity by asking members of the Rutgers community here - students, faculty and staff - to pledge to fast for a day from dawn to dusk, sunrise to sunset," said Usker Naqvi, head of public relations for SALAM, the Muslim student association at the University.

The Fast-A-Thon is geared towards non-Muslims at the University, offering them an opportunity to participate in charity and to learn more about the Islamic culture, said Naqvi.

"We want to invite them to do what we do every day, for just a day, just for charity," Naqvi said. "[We want to] bring all Muslims and non-Muslims at RU together while taking part in our customs and learning about our faith - why we do what we do."

Naqvi said local businesses and sponsors donate money to a designated charity. Last year, 200 pledges raised $3,500 for Elijah's Promise, a community-based soup kitchen. This year, the Fast-A-Thon will help the Darfur Action Project, an initiative that provides relief for the conflict and poverty in Darfur.

SALAM Treasurer Hassan Popal, the brothers' committee head of the Islamic Society of Rutgers University and a Rutgers College sophomore, also said the organization gets $10 from Islamic Relief, a relief and development agency that will transport the money directly to Darfur.

Non-Muslims are already signing up.

"I'm just trying to help out," said Angela Matos, a Rutgers College senior. "I mean, they get $10 for my name."

"It's Darfur - I mean, why not?" School of Arts and Sciences student Ryan Anderson said in agreement. "It's the least I can do to help out."

Pledging for the Fast-A-Thon ended Thursday at the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus, but those interested can still sign up online at http://muslims.rutgers.edu/fastathon.

Popal used personal experience to stress the importance of signing up and supporting the embattled Sudanese region.

"My high school tore me up because it was racist, and since I'm both Muslim and Afghani, I had it the worst," he said. "I thought I had it bad, [until] I found out that people all across the world are struggling … I just want to support them."

Naqvi admits fasting is not an easy thing to participate in, but believes it is beneficial to the mind.

"It keeps you in check," he said. "All year round we overindulge, while other parts of the world don't have these kinds of luxuries."

According to Islamic beliefs, Ramadan is a holy time because that is when the Holy Quran was found. The main conditions of the fast include abstinence from eating, drinking or smoking during the daytime, as well as an opportunity to self-reflect and avoid poor conduct.

"This means no foul language, lying, impure thoughts, etcetera," Naqvi said.

The Ramadan still includes exceptions for those who cannot handle fasting.

"You're not going to die just going 12-14 hours without eating or drinking," he said. "Nobody I know has had problems, but if it would cause someone harm, that person is exempt from it."

The Fast-A-Thon will start at sunrise Oct. 9 at approximately 5:47 a.m. and will end at sunset around 6:30 p.m. A free dinner will be hosted after sunset in the Multipurpose Room of the Rutgers Student Center for all participants. There will also be a guest speaker from a Darfur organization and other charity organizations will also be present.

The Islamic Society of Rutgers University, SALAM and the Office of the Muslim Chaplaincy organized the annual event. The Center for Middle Eastern Studies acts as a co-sponsors.

"Hunger is always there, but the great part about fasting is finding the strength in yourself to overcome that temptation," Naqvi said. "It makes you a stronger person. If they keep their sights set on the purpose - raising money for relief efforts in Darfur - then [participants] shouldn't have a problem completing a single day's fast."