Friday, August 28, 2009
Maria Beg wakes up at 5 a.m. to drink a glass of water and pray. She’s not hungry so she does not eat. Soon she will be back in bed, resting before a full day of class and work. She will not eat or drink again for nearly 15 hours.
She feels great.
“Fasting is not a burden,” Beg said. “It’s about finding a state of purity.”
Beg, St. Louis senior, is nearly a week into her daily fasting ritual for the Islamic month of Ramadan. For 30 days, Muslims on campus and around the world are enduring a trying month of sun-up to sundown fasting. Beg said the fasting helps Muslims practice patience, humility and self-control to celebrate their relationship with God.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and celebrates the revealing of the Koran to the prophet Mohammad. This year Ramadan goes from Aug. 22 until Sept. 20. In addition to fasting by all the physically able, Muslims are expected to refrain from anything ill natured, including smoking, sexual thoughts and foul language, among others.
Marwa Ghazali, graduate instructor of Humanities and Western Civilization, said teaching became more challenging during Ramadan. The long days without food or water require extra effort to be enthusiastic while leading discussions, she said.
“Normally I like to drink water while I teach,” Ghazali said. “It’s more challenging, but I have a responsibility to present the information just as well as when I’m not fasting.”
Ghazali said the challenges were what made the month rewarding. She said hardships helped her think about what people in poverty go through on a daily basis, an essential lesson of Ramadan.
“People who don’t have food and water have things they have to do too,” Ghazali said. “I can’t just sit there like a useless human being.”
Ibrahim Alanqar, treasurer of the Muslim Student Association, said fasting gave him a heightened sense of self-control. He said he used this heightened awareness to make himself both a better student and a better person.
“Food is one of the many desires,” Alanqar said. “By controlling one desire I am more prepared to control other human urges.”
Though Ramadan is an Islamic celebration, some non-Muslim students are fasting for personal growth.
Ognyan Chervenkov, Bulgaria, senior, said that he fasted for Ramadan because he wanted to experience what his Muslim roommate was going through. He said among the benefits, fasting gave him increased time management skills.
“When I fast, I know when food comes,” Chervenkov said. “Putting food in a designated time helps me put other things in their proper time too.”
His roommate, Shehryar Rana, Pakistan senior, agreed that Ramadan helped him manage day-to-day routines. He said he became increasingly tired throughout the day, which forced him to focus on staying on top of schoolwork and obligations.
“It’s harder to focus late in the afternoon,” Rana said. “You can’t keep things to the last moment because you won’t have the energy.”
The Muslim Student Association will conclude Ramadan with its annual Fast-a-Thon on Thursday, Sept. 10, in the Kansas Union. The event is open to the public and is expected to raise hundreds of dollars for the Lawrence homeless shelter.
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