About 100 students and faculty from the University of Michigan Medical School plan to abstain from eating and drinking all day tomorrow. It’s part of “Fast-a-Thon 2011,” when non-Muslims are invited to get a glimpse of the experience of Ramadan.
Shaza al-Holou heads the Muslim Medical Students Association at U of M. She says it gives perspective to physicians and future physicians who might have Muslim patients.
"Just understanding that they have that going on, and to... recognize that as a physician. I think as a patient I would feel a deeper connection to my physician personally if they understood what I was going through."
Ramadan is observed each year during the ninth lunar month. The sun-up-to-sundown fast is intended to help Muslims focus on God, and practice patience and humility.
