George Mason University student newspaper The Broadside is encouraging students to participate in Ramadan fasting, sponsored by the Saudi-funded radical Islamic front group calling itself the Muslim Student Association: Students Fasting For Change.

George Mason University’s Muslim Student Association will once again host a Fast-a-thon, an event where they extend their religious practice of Ramadan to non-Muslim individuals in order to feed the hungry. Non-Muslims are encouraged to practice fasting and sponsorship gets money to feed the hungry and learn more about Islam.

“We hope to get Muslims and people of other faiths to join together in an effort to build bridges and to address issues of hunger in our community,” said senior Sufia Alnoor, communications major and secretary of MSA.

Some area businesses and community members have promised to donate money to the Dar-al-Hijra Food Bank, who will distribute food to the needy in our community, for every non-Muslim student who participates in the Fast-a-thon event.

Ramadan is a month when Muslims are required to engage in fasting, one of the five pillars of Islam, which involves abstaining from eating, drinking, smoking, having intimate relations with a spouse, among other things during the daylight hours. Charity and appreciation of one’s existence are stressed during this month. …

The event will take place on Oct. 10 from the approximate daylight hours of 5:45 a.m. to 6:38 p.m. There will be a meeting in the Student Union Building II Ballroom at 5:30 p.m., where students are invited to conclude their fasting with dinner and learn more about Islam. This is when students will be able to confirm with MSA that they have been fasting.

The concluding dinner will be followed by a speech from Sulaiman Jalloh, physiology and neurobiology major at the University of Maryland who has memorized the Qu’ran.

UPDATE at 10/2/07 11:24:11 am:

The radical Islamic front group is also being promoted at the University of Texas at Dallas: Students fast to benefit charity.

MSA brother’s activities coordinator Ayham Nahhas said MSAs around the nation hold Fast-A-Thons by choosing one day during Ramadan to invite non-Muslims to fast with members. Participants sign a pledge to fast that day and businesses donate a certain amount per pledge to a charity selected by the MSA.

“We invite [Fast-A-Thon participants] to a banquet at sunset and they break their fast with us. We have a speaker from the charity and we also have a speaker about Islam in general. I think it’s a good opportunity to benefit a charity and for people to learn about Islam, to get the understanding that Muslims are about making the world a better place,” Nahhas said.