Isadin Hussein said the hardest part of observing Ramadan is not letting his mind wander to negative thoughts, such as his hungry stomach.
The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Ramadan, is a month dedicated to fasting for the 1.4 billion Muslims around the world. They abstain from food, drink and negativity in order to focus on God.
Hussein, a sophomore in pre-pharmacy, said the thirst is what really got to him.
“I’d just want a drink8212;water,” he said. “It was pretty bad.”
But after breaking his fast Wednesday night with more than 200 friends, classmates and community members, he said that he’s grown. Hussein understands the plight of the poor a little bit better, who not only go hungry for a month as he did, but every day.
Empathy is the focus of this year’s Ramadan, as observed by members of the U Muslim Student Association. The fast culminated with a Fast-A-Thon, a banquet at the Officer’s Club in Fort Douglas on Wednesday night to celebrate the breaking of the day’s fast. Anyone was invited to come, including non-Muslim students, to share the experience and donate. About half of the people in attendance were U students and the rest came from the community.
Joe Walker, a junior in parks and recreation, partook in the fasting as well. The hardest part was keeping his mind off negative thoughts, most of which were directed at school, he said.
Asim Ahmed, president of MSA, took the podium prior to the breaking of the fast before a crowd of more than 200 people8212;more participants than they had counted on8212;and asked them to imagine the food they were about to enjoy. Then he asked them to imagine that it wasn’t coming for another two hours, or even the next day.
“That’s what it can be like for the poor,” Ahmed said.
The MSA opened its arms for donations to help the poor, both in Salt Lake City and across the world, by taking donations throughout the month and at the banquet. Two organizations, To Paradise International Relief and The Asian Refugee Center, will receive $500 each from the $1,000 given by students and the community, as tallied Wednesday night. It was a greater sum than they had expected, Ahmed said.
The center’s president, Robert Elndur, himself a refugee from Libya, said that their portion will likely go toward purchasing candy and gifts for the children of impoverished Muslim refugee families. To Paradise International Relief purchases food and clothes for impoverished families around the world.
“We can go by and make them happy… and give them a happy end to their Ramadan,” Elndur said.
The turnout was so unexpectedly large that the Mediterranean style banquet wasn’t enough to feed the entire crowd. Fifteen minutes into the feast, Ahmed had to call his MSA team together and figure out how to feed everyone.
At the end of the day, while Muslims and non-Muslims alike came to the rescue of impoverished families around the world, Dominos Pizza swooped in to rescue them.
Kate KellySofia Ahmed, a senior psychology major and Faraf Gadalla await the ending prayer at the Fast-A-Thon in the Officers Club.