The “Fast-a-thon,” organized by the Muslim Students Association (MSA), lasted from sunrise to sunset as part of the Muslim custom of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.
Any student who decided to fast could make a personal donation as well as recruit sponsors to pledge financial support. The money raised from the event will go to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) and CARE, a global humanitarian nonprofit that focuses on providing appropriate resources for the world’s impoverished.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast during the daylight hours to connect with God, MSA president Wasim Shiliwala ’09 said in an e-mail.
He added that the Fast-a-thon allowed the MSA to celebrate the holiday and “shed light on problems like hunger.”
With the event, the MSA is directly addressing the issue of hunger by collecting donations for TASK and CARE.
“Since hunger is a worldwide problem, we wanted to choose one charity that works to solve the problem on a global scale (CARE) and one that serves the community right in our backyard (TASK),” Shiliwala said.
“[B]oth are well-known ... [and] working to alleviate poverty and feed the hungry. They’re really two of the best charities an event like Fast-a-thon can benefit,” he added.
In addition to contributing to charities, the Fast-a-thon also aims to give Princeton students more insight into and a better understanding of the Muslim community and culture.
“[The Fast-a-thon] really helped me relate to a big group of people ... [to] connect to them,” Gina Davis ’10 said of her second Fast-a-thon experience.
The connection works both ways. Fethi Ramazanoglu GS, a practicing Muslim, said that he was “amazed by the number of people” participating in a religious holiday that is sacred to him.
He added thatsharing the experience with non-Muslims helped him to connect with them.
Shiliwala said that he hopes the event will allow “everyone to learn about their peers’ beliefs ... [and] to get ... in the mood of doing good deeds and helping their fellow man.”
“If that message gets across and people take it to heart, then we have done our job,” he said.
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