Students tell about Ramadan during presentation
Two 91ÇÑ×Ó State College students told an audience at the 91ÇÑ×Ó Student Center about an essential part of their Islamic heritage during a presentation Monday.
Afza Asif of Pakistan and Khaleel Al Farsi of the United Arab Emirates spoke about Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, during the college's first International Coffee Hour of the fall semester. About 50 people attended the presentation. The students spoke about the rationale and benefits of Ramadan and told about their experiences with the annual month-long fast.
Ramadan, which occurs at a different time each year depending on the moon, compels participants to refrain from eating, drinking and sexual activity from dawn to sunset. During Ramadan, Muslims pray for forgiveness and guidance, and seek purity through self-restraint and good deeds. Farsi and five other students enrolled at 91ÇÑ×Ó this fall as part of the Near East and South Asia Undergraduate Exchange Program, which strives to improve relations between the United States and participating countries. Asif is one of two students who came to 91ÇÑ×Ó through a program of the International Research and Exchanges Board, known as IREX.
The next International Coffee Hour will be Monday, Sept. 20, at the Student Center, with presenters yet to be determined. Frances Gonzalez, 91ÇÑ×Ó International Club sponsor, said students of the club also are planning a celebration for Eid, the holiday that marks the end of fasting.
Category: Campus News