More than 350 students went hungry Friday in a show of support for the Muslim Student Association's (MSA) annual Fast-A-Thon.

Students pledge to refrain from eating and drinking throughout the day, in accordance with the holy restrictions of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. For every student who agrees to pledge, local businesses and restaurants donate money to a charity dedicated to alleviating hunger.

"Ramadan is a time to increase the spiritual side of yourself," said Zakariya Dehlawi, the president of the MSA. "It's basically a time to be good, to get into the 'Ramadan' spirit, like Christmas."

During Ramadan, Muslims don't eat, drink, smoke, have sex, gossip or argue from dawn until dusk. It's a time of reflection, a way to "increase your own willpower and empathy for those less fortunate," Dehlawi said.

The Fast-A-Thon was a success, despite the small window that the MSA had this year to promote the event, Dehlawi said. Since Ramadan is based on the Islamic lunar calendar, it falls earlier and earlier each year.

"We only had about 10 days to really advertise," Dehlawi said. "Once school started, we were out there. I'm really pleased that we were able to have the same numbers as previous years."

Several non-Muslim students shared their experiences with fasting at the event, to the surprise and delight of Dehlawi and other MSA officers.

"I really wasn't expecting much," said Kiki Rizki, a first-time Fast-A-Thon participant. "I thought it'd be mostly Muslims, but there were a lot of non-Muslims that really interacted well. I was amazed when they got up to share their stories."

Sara Goodstein, a spokesperson for Northwest Harvest, the local hunger relief program chosen by the MSA this year, agreed that the joining of religions at the event was amazing.

"It was really a kind of global enlightenment about hunger and what that means," Goodstein said.

Northwest Harvest is dedicated to serving those who are "food insecure," Goodstein said.

"When people are in real trouble, when they don't have an absolute source for food, what do they do? They don't turn off their heat or electricity or water; they give up the quality and quantity of their food," she said.

Goodstein visits different businesses and religious groups to let people know what they can do to help out Northwest Harvest, and to educate them about the hunger issue in our area.

"The wonderful students at the Muslim Student Association were kind enough to bring us into their event," Goodstein said. "It was amazing, absolutely amazing."

[Reach reporter Arla Shephard

at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]