Bryan BeilkeEach year, Muslims around the world take part in the spiritual celebration known as Ramadan. The small Muslim population here at Cal Poly is no exception.
This year, Ramadan began Sept. 12 and will come to a close this weekend.
The Muslim Student Association is incorporating both fasting and fundraising in an effort to raise money for the world’s poor.
According to Naiyerah Kolkailah, secretary for the Muslim Student Association, between dawn and dusk, Muslims participate in a disciplined fasting ritual, husbands and wives refrain from marital relations and a constant round of praying occurs for the entire month.
“We fast from dawn to sunset,” Kolkailah said. “There’s no eating and no drinking in that time period. It requires a great deal of discipline but you get used to it after the first few days.”
Kolkailah said that her club was currently raising money for hungry people in Africa.
“We are having a dinner to raise awareness for the month of fasting, as well as to raise money for the poor,” Kolkailah said. “This year we are donating all the money raised to the people that are starving in Darfur.”
Kolkailah said that all the money raised will be channeled through the nonprofit organization Islamic Relief.
She talked about the overall idea of the project, from fasting to donation.
“The idea is for people to experience the fast with us while challenging themselves a little bit,” Kolkailah said. “At the same time they are helping fundraise for the poor.”
Muslim Student Association adviser, Ali Shaban, spoke about what the fasting project is trying to accomplish.
“The main reason for this fast-a-thon is to raise money,” Shaban said. “We are here together, helping one another, to feed the hungry people of the world.”
Shaban said that while Muslims are fasting during the month of Ramadan, the main focus should center on two primary goals.
“By fasting, you feel the hunger, you feel those people that are really in need,” Shaban said. “The other important thing is the self-discipline that is learned during the month.”
Shaban likened the fasting experience to attending a brief stint of college coursework.
“You get to take a short course and gain a lot of knowledge out of it very quickly,” Shaban said. “This is what enables us to carry on for the rest of the year.”