One of the Five Pillars of Islam, the foundations of Muslim life, includes fasting during the month of Ramadan. This year, ten days away from the end of the month of Ramadan (which began September 1), Ball State University's Muslim Student Association, along with the International Students Association, organized a community Iftar celebration on campus.
Iftar is the celebration of the first meal after a day of fasting. Christian Campus House played host to the Friday evening dinner. Students, faculty and people from the Muncie community gathered with dishes, some of which were traditional food items from the Middle East.
At the beginning of the dinner, sophomore Ahmad Qutab went to the front of the room and made a call for prayer.
Khalid Sajjad, president of the Muslim Student Association and one of the organizers of the event, said once the calling of the prayer is made, people break their fast and pray.
"Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan," he said. "It is one of the Five Pillars to fulfill. We fast from sunrise to sunset on food, water and, those who are married, from sexual intercourse. ... While you are fasting, your mouth is fasting from backbiting and your ears are fasting from eavesdropping.
"The point of the fasting is to make you compassionate, to remind you of the people who can't afford food, whether they're in Africa, South America, even in Europe and in here," he said. "Another point of fasting is to gain piety, God's consciousness."
Sajjad said the purpose of the campus celebration is to help people learn what Ramadan is all about. After the terrorist attacks in 2001, he said, people have had a bad perspective of the Muslim community, and celebrations like this are used as an opportunity for non-Muslims to know more about the community.
"We want to share our experience with the Ball State community; that is the purpose of this Iftar," said organizer Nazim Ahmed, who is adviser for the Muslim Student Association. "And we really appreciate that many who are attending the event are Ball State students."
Hassan Algazuui, a sophomore health science major said he is pleased with these types of celebrations on campus.
"I think that when people organize an event like this for us, they show us how they respect our religion; they show that they respect us, and they show that they respect how we're feeling," he said.
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