Fast-a-thon a buffet of insight

Imagine going without food from sunup to sundown — voluntarily.

That's what Miguel Rodriguez did in an effort to better understand his Muslim peers at the Muslim Student Association's annual Fast-a-thon event held Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Pegasus Ballroom.

"Well, I feel healthier already, for one," said the graduate history student and member of a Protestant church when Abdullah Sabawi, MSA's president, asked how his fast went.

"It's wonderful to fast, because you find that solidarity with the poor," Rodriguez told the audience.

The event began with a recitation from the Quran, the religious text of the Islamic faith, by Ahmad Saleem, men's halaqa (religious gathering) chair for the Muslim Student Association.

Sabawi, who'd been looking forward to educating individuals regarding the holy month of Ramadan and on Islam as a whole, told the audience that fasting is not unique to Muslims.

"A lot of faiths, certainly the Jews and Christians, had fasting prescribed to them," Sabawi said.

Nadine Abu-Jubara, marketing director for AlMaghrib Florida, an institution devoted to providing courses in Islam, also spoke at the event.

Abu-Jubara says that while people in good health must observe Ramadan, others may be exempt.

"God tells us in the Quran that if fasting, in the timeframe that you're required to fast, is going to create a difficulty on you that you cannot endure, then you are exempt from fasting," Abu-Jubara said.

Abu-Jubara also said that Muslims must maintain control of emotions, such as anger. Jubara uses an example of a driver cutting you off on the highway as an example of the discipline that Muslims must observe during Ramadan.

"If that guy cuts you off on the highway as you're cruising, control yourself. Remind yourself, ‘Oh God, I am fasting,' " Abu-Jubara said.  "Just let it go."   

Abu-Jubara also addressed a common misconception about the breaking of the fast.

She said it's not just a time to chow down and fill your belly in preparation for the following day's fast, it's a time for family and for friends to get together, reflect on the day that just passed and express gratitude and thankfulness for their blessings.

Dr. Ali Shehata, a Central Florida physician and Islam expert, spoke about the physical benefits of fasting.

He said a common misconception is that fasting is harmful, but in reality it's beneficial for a person.

"Certainly, if you're not putting all that stuff in your stomach, blood can go elsewhere and focus," Shehata said.

According to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, fasting reduces stress on the body, can improve blood flow and make your body more efficient.

Shehata also said that fasting helps with cardiovascular diseases, as well as diabetes, and it aids in the growth of the immune system and the slowing of aging.

Another speaker at this event was Muhammad Ishak Adam, who came in representation of Project Downtown: Orlando, an organization devoted to helping less fortunate and one of the charities MSA would be donating to.

Adam highlighted the contrast between the lives of the people in the room and those who are not able to find food to eat.

"For every one of us that's going to have dinner here, approximately five people are going to go hungry in the Orlando area," Adam said.

After Adam spoke, a call to prayer, known as Adhan, was held for three minutes and then the fast was officially broken. Non-Muslims were allowed to get in line for the free banquet prepared by MSA. Muslims continued their prayers for a few more minutes and eventually had their food brought to them by volunteers. Items on the menu included hummus, salad, pita bread, biryani rice and a chole salad.

Following the meal, Saleem continued the discussion on Ramadan.

He said that God places humans higher than animals and blesses them for donating their time and money to those who require it.

He also discussed the flooding disaster in Pakistan that happened more than a month ago.

He said the flood destroyed more than 1.2 million homes and displaced more than 20 million people.

"Think of all of Florida being flooded," Saleem said. "I think that analogy serves its purpose in showing the big magnitude of this flood."

Saleem implored people to help in any way that they can and reminded attendees that donations were being accepted for Project Downtown: Orlando and for Islamic Relief USA.

Like Rodriguez, Leslie Cordero, a senior English literature major and non-Muslim, participated to gain a further understanding of the Islamic faith.

"As a non-Muslim, I wanted to gain a different perspective on Islam and see what it was like for myself," said Cordero, who'd been fasting since the second week of Ramadan.

Aysha Kahn, an MSA volunteer, attended the event with her husband and two children to show support for Islam.

Kahn said she felt that it was important to attend this event and to help to dispel what she feels are misconceptions about Islam.

"If you look around on your campus, you'll find that we're just average Americans, with just a different set of beliefs," she said.