CAIR-Chicago attends DePaul UMMA Fast-A-Thon

DePaul University's Muslim Student Association, United Muslims Moving Ahead (UMMA), held their annual Fast-A-Thon on Friday, February 7th.  UMMA encouraged participants to abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset as they raised money for Bridging the Gap. Past Fast-A-Thons have raised money for organizations like Oxfam. This years' focus was more local. Bridging the Gap is nonprofit service organization located on the South East side of Chicago that is dedicated to the betterment of society through the formation, development, and strengthening of community bonds through service, fellowship, education, enrichment, and civic engagement. The organization's founder, Imam Tariq El-Amin and his wife, CAIR-Chicago board member Aisha El-Amin, attended the Fast-A-Thon with their three daughters. CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator and DePaul aluma Agnieszka Karoluk also attended the event.

The night began with Maghrib –evening prayer followed by a dinner buffet. DePaul student and UMMA member Feras Alfuqaha honored the gathering with recitation from Surah an-Nisa, a passage in the Holy Qur'an. Later on in the evening, Imam Tariq El-Amin spoke at length about Bridging the Gap,highlighting why and how the organization was founded and how its mission has grown.
UMMA President Saifa Hussain shared her thoughts on the event,

"Working with Bridging the Gap and listening to Imam Tariq's talk has reminded me that we are all interchangeably serving each other, for we are all needy in the sight of Allah."

Two weeks ago, UMMA students helped prepare and distribute food with Bridging the Gap. UMMA plans to continue this service effort every other weekend.