After an all-nighter studying at Library West, Shumail Zaidi drove to IHOP at 4 a.m.
The UF civil engineering sophomore said he scarfed down a short stack of buttermilk pancakes with syrup while talking to about 30 other people. All of them were preparing for the day ahead — they had committed to fasting from sunrise to sunset during Islam on Campus’ annual Fast-A-Thon on Wednesday.
Zaidi and the others attended the banquet hosted by Islam on Campus, a Muslim student organization with about 2,000 members. The event took place Wednesday night at the O’Connell Center and brought together more than 800 hungry students, said Dean Hasan, the vice president of external affairs for Islam on Campus.
Although Zaidi is used to fasting because of Ramadan, a holiday period when Muslims don’t eat from sunrise to sunset, he said starting his fast with other people was different.
“It’s not a huge thing anymore,” the 19-year-old said. “I don’t get tired — I’m used to it, but it was nice to have others around, even some who were not Muslim.”
For the 15th consecutive year, Fast-A-Thon raised awareness about Islam at UF. The student organization holds the event every Fall and encourages people of all religions to fast for one day. Hasan said fasting doesn’t only include abstaining from all food and drinks but from other habits including sex, gossiping and swearing.
“We’re here to enlighten people about what we stand for,” said Hasan, adding fasting teaches values like patience and self-discipline.
Before their feast to break the fast, the group prayed.
Although Islam on Campus usually serves traditional ethnic food from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, this year they offered guests baked ziti, salmon and salad from Olive Garden Italian Restaurant, located at 2711 Clark Butler Blvd., as well as hummus and bread.
Paperwork issues prevented them from booking their usual catering service provider from Orlando, said Onais Tariq, the president of Islam on Campus.
“We weren’t able to have traditional food, but I think the students who came together feel grateful they have food,” Tariq said.
The organization spent about $15,000 of its nearly $53,000 budget, provided by Student Government, for the event. Imam Azhar Subedar, a motivational speaker and religious leader from Tampa, spoke during the night.
Islam on Campus had raised about $2,000 since July through social events, auctions and donations, Hasan said. They will donate the money to two nonprofits — Penny Appeal USA, which works to alleviate poverty, and Streetlight, a UF peer support program for Gainesville teenagers staying in hospitals.
Despite being agnostic, Angie Castrillon, a UF sustainability and the built environment sophomore, decided to fast Wednesday because she wanted to understand the Muslim culture better.
“It definitely gave me a bigger appreciation for what they do,” she said.
The 20-year-old said once she started getting really hungry at 3 p.m., she began reflecting about society. For instance, she said she understood how serious and debilitating world hunger is. She couldn’t focus on an assignment because her stomach demanded to be fed.
Castrillon couldn’t attend Fast-A-Thon because she had another meeting, but around 6:30 p.m. she privately broke her fasting by biting into a juicy pear.
“It was the best pear I’ve ever had,” Castrillon said.
