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Columbia Missourian

MU Muslim Student Organization spokesman retracts statement about Ramadan

By Furqaan Sadiq, Muslim Student Organization, Columbia
October 11, 2007 | 2:09 p.m. CDT

Allison Ross wrote a great cover piece on Quran recitation during the month of Ramadan. It was insightful, and for once, Muslims looked like quite amiable people in the news. Until I had to open my big mouth.

In her most recent article from Oct. 5, Ms. Ross quoted me as saying, “We can’t eat during the day, so we pig out at night.”

I wish to point out the assault on Muslims and Jews, especially in Columbia, who were betrayed by what was a complete defamatory statement on a sacred act in the Islamic and Jewish faiths.

The holy month of Ramadan, as well as the Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, are times of detaching oneself from daily routine, reconnecting with one’s faith, mending broken bridges and healing wounds of the less fortunate through charity.

So, it is necessary to redeem the essence of Ramadan and Yom Kippur from my lack of ability to communicate something so special in the hearts of so many in Columbia.