Student organization raises hunger awareness through fasting

Sandhya Subramanian felt weak and light-headed by sunset Friday. 

After fasting all day, Subramanian, a sophomore majoring in biology, was relieved to finally be able to eat at the end of the day — but for her, it was worth it. 

Participants in Pitt’s Muslim Students Associations’ fourth annual fast-a-thon filed into the O’Hara Student Center ballroom at 5 p.m. Friday, ready to feast. The participants started their day-long fast  — which included abstaining from food and water — at sunrise Friday, which culminated in a feast during the evening. 

The Muslim Student Association partnered with Pitt’s Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment group, known as FORGE, for the event, which also included a clothing drive for Syrian refugees.

Adam Daud, president of the association, welcomed the crowd of about 200 participants and then recited the Maghrib prayer, which is the fourth of five Muslim prayers recited daily at sunset. The organization also allowed participants to break their fast with water, dates and Hershey’s kisses provided on each table.

Subhana Chaudhri, co-social chair of Muslim Student Assocation, said the organization aimed to highlight the importance of fasting through the fast-a-thon and clothing drive. Since humanity is so important to the Islamic religion, Chaudhri said, fasting helps them connect with others who are less fortunate.

Chaudhri said the organization chose the theme of humanity for the event because the word helps define the Islamic faith and reminds others to be grateful for the life they live.

After the fast, Kush Purohit, co-president of FORGE, thanked participants for their involvement with the fast-a-thon and for their clothing donations to Syrian refugees. 

Purohit also urged participants to look at the questions about hunger, which had been placed on each table. The questions were intended to make participants think about the issue of hunger in a wordly context. 

Questions asked included, “What is hunger? How many times do you say, ‘I’m hungry’ during the day?” and “What is a refugee?” Many participants at the tables answered that they said they were hungry too often during the day.

“I immediately woke up this morning and thought ‘I’m hungry,’” Subramanian said,

Although abstaining from eating was uncomfortable for Subramanian, she said going without water was more challenging. 

Participants were rewarded with rice, chicken curry, vegetable curry, pizza and cookies at the end of their fast. 

Subramanian said she was relieved when they finally were able to eat, but once she heard what the speakers had to say about fasting, she said she though she could have abstained from food longer.

After the meal, Daud introduced the keynote speaker, Imam Atef Mahgoub, adding that Atef leads a congregation and conducts activities related to The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh.

He also mentioned that Atef has lectured for other organizations, including the Islamic Society of Britain, the Council on American Islamic Relations, Al-Maghrib Institute and the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network.

Atef reminded audience members that fasting is a way to be thankful for the blessings they receive daily. 

“One of our problems as a society is that we only care about ourselves, and we have forgotten about a lot of people who are starving to death even here in America,” Atef said. 

Atef also told the audience members that fasting affected their soul, not their stomach.

Laila Al-Soulaiman, a Syrian-American undergraduate at Pitt, also spoke of the dire situation in Syria. She said that out of a population of 22 million, 136,000 people have been killed, and 6.6 million Syrians have been displaced. Al-Soulaiman added that a Syrian dies from hunger every 10 hours. 

According to Alaa Mohamed, the vice president of the Muslim Student Association who introduced Al-Soulaiman, Al-Soulaiman has been devoted to educating the Pittsburgh community about the conflict in Syria since the age of 16. Al-Soulaiman has partnered with nonprofits, including Global Solutions Pittsburgh, The World Affairs Council and the Girls Coalition, to facilitate local discussion events. Al-Soulaiman’s efforts resulted in her receiving the Emerging Leader award by the Women and Girl’s Foundation, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit group that works to empower women. 

Portraying the conflict in Syria as not simply an isolated incident in a far away land, Al-Soulaiman said people should take time to educate themselves on the extent of the conflict. 

“Why should we care about Syria as a collective of young people, students, Pittsburghers and Americans?” Al-Soulaiman asked.

“Because we should,” she said.

Al-Soulaiman then gave history to the conflict in Syria starting March 15, 2011, saying the people of Syria are calling for a better way of life. 

“My message to you is to attempt to live a purposeful life always in remembrance of others, always in remembrance of your identity, or your education and of service,” she said.