Gustavus held its Fast-a-Thon on Thursday, Feb. 20, an event that has been happening since 2013. The Multifaith Leadership Council (MLC) and Muslim Students Association (MSA).
“[We] decided to work on this program together. Both groups belong to the Diversity Leadership Council (DLC), which encourages partnering with other student organizations,” Interfaith Program Coordinator and Professor Marian Broida said.
“[The Fast-a-Thon] aimed to introduce a platform of interfaith dialogue and encouraged followers of different religions to come together on the mutual practice of fasting,” MSA co-president and Senior Mehreen Kamal said.
“[It was] inspired by the “Better Together” initiative of [the] Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a non-profit based in Chicago. The goal is to bring diverse students together to work towards a shared goal or issue,” Kamal said.
“It was a natural fit for the two groups [to work together] since it highlights learning about other religious traditions and raises awareness about fasting, a central practice for Muslims during the month of Ramadan,” Broida said.
“We were inspired by the other Fast-a-Thons that had previously happened in other schools in the U.S. and abroad ,and we wanted to be part of it,” Junior Hanaa Alhosawi said.
Kamal led the project as co-president of the MSA and member of the MLC.
“[The day was] an invitation for voluntary day-long observation to fast, whatever that might mean to each individual,” Kamal said.
“[I] chaired a planning subgroup that met over J-term to do much of the planning, as well as the first two MLC meetings of spring semester. The planning group included members from the MLC, MSA and Sophie Martinez, [a] student employee of the chaplain’s office,” Broida said.
The planning group chose to have the Fast-a-Thon raise money for Hikmah, a local project through the St. Peter Islamic Center that focuses on helping youth English-language learners (ELL). Founder Mohamed Abdulkadir created the program to help students improve their academic skills. Twenty Hikmah participants and members of local churches were invited to the Fast-a-Thon.
“Mr. Abdulkadir reached out to five Somali families who were involved with Hikmah, [and] they came with their kids. The kids were so excited to be there. It made for a very exciting evening,” Broida said.
Attendees raised $391 to donate to Hikmah.
There were over 60 participants in this year’s Fast-a-Thon.
“[It was] a terrific opportunity for members of different religions, traditions, and worldviews to meet each other, learn about fasting practices and share an amazing meal,” Broida said.
The Fast-a-Thon Feast included dates, challah bread, bobalki (sweet Slovak bread balls), fruit, chicken and vegetarian curry and frost your owns. Challah is typically served during Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath, and around the time of the Jewish New Year.
“Jews often bake a special round challah with dry fruit in it, signifying life’s sweetness. This is the kind that was served at the Fast-a-Thon Feast because Jews often eat it when breaking their Yom Kippur fast,” Broida said.
“[Dates are] significant for breaking fast in Islam [the] bolbaki was suggested by Angelina Hathy,” Kamal said.
Student insight was important to the group.
“[We] gave priority to students to be on the panel” Kamal said. The panel included staff and student representatives for Islam, Judaism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism and Protestantism.
“[The panel] gave insights on fasting in their religions and some personal stories of their own practices” Kamal said.
“Speakers talked about what fasting means to them, how fasting looks in their religion and culture, the meaning of fasting in their culture, [and] what they eat when breaking their fast,” Alhosawi said.
“Students participated in table-talks on fasting, such as what fasting means to each individual on a personal as well as a religious level, how the practice of fasting differs across religions, and how fasting impacts their faith,” Kamal said.
“[It was] so good and pleasant… for people to sit down together in peace,” Broida said, quoting Psalm 133:1. “Truly, this event showed how easy and exciting it can be for people of different backgrounds to learn from each other over wonderful food. Barriers were broken down that night” Broida said.
Broida is working with Professor Samuel Kessler to organize an interfaith Seder, a traditional Jewish service and dinner, which will be held the evening of Wednesday, April 1 before the Passover holiday.