Feature

Fast-a-thon

By Wara Karim

The title of the article may not make much sense at a first glance, but taking a look at it again may make you wonder if it has anything to do with fasting and marathon. If it did, then you are on the right track. Fast-a-thon is a project by the Muslim Students Association (MSA) of the United States and Canada to encourage non-Muslim students to “go hungry for one day, so someone else won't have to” usually during the month of Ramadan. The purpose of the event is to create awareness on worldwide hunger and on the Islamic way of life. The event is held on the university campuses across the U.S. and Canada. In 2009, some 250 campuses participated in the event and raised thousands of dollars, which were donated to local charitable organisations, including soup kitchens and food pantries. The charitable organisations are chosen based on their good reputation among the Muslims and the non-Muslims living in that community. The money is donated on behalf of the people fasting.

The MSA representatives approach local businesses to pledge with them. As is the condition of the pledge, the local businesses donate a certain amount of money for each non-Muslim fasting at Fast-a-thon.

Fast-a-thon was first organised by the University of Tennessee's Muslim Students Association in 2001 following the 9/11 terror attacks. It gained quick popularity and today, the event is held every year during the month of Ramadan. Fast-a-thon not only enables MSA members to live up to the Islamic teachings of charity and compassion but also bridges them with the non-Muslims. Fast-a-thon also gives the MSA members an opportunity to explain some of the common misconceptions about Islam. It is one of MSA's projects to promote interfaith dialogue and friendship.

Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada, which is also known as MSA National, was established in January 1963 in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Today, MSA chapters are spread across North America. Through Fast-a-thon, MSA brings to light the fact that there are millions of people around the world for whom fasting is not the exercise of a religious rite but an everyday reality.