More than 300 non-Muslim students gave up food and water yesterday, in an effort to raise money for the poor and gain insight into the Islamic religion.

Organized by the Muslim Student Association, the Ramadan Fast-a-thon invited non-Muslim students to fast for 12 hours from sunrise to sunset yesterday.

For each of students who participated, local business donated money to the Tucson Community Food Bank, said Miriam Hoda, student coordinator for MSA.

The fast was broken last night after sunset, when students were served a free dinner, watched the Maghrib (sunset) Prayer and listened to guest speakers.

Hoda said the purpose of the event, which raised $1,000 for Tucson Community Food Bank, was to let non-Muslim students experience fasting and gain empathy for the poor by realizing what the impoverished must go through every day.

Sandra Lujan, a Tucson Community Food Bank representative, said 60,000 children in Pima County go to bed hungry every night, even though mothers and fathers are also giving up meals just to feed their children.

Although the food bank distributes 34,000 meals daily to the homeless and working poor, it only meets 20 percent of the need in Pima County, Lujan said.

Andrew Friedman, an engineering freshman, said he fasted although he had to study for a test, and realized how difficult it was to concentrate while hungry.

"I learned it's hard to accomplish much of anything if you can't meet your basic needs," Friedman said.

Scott Lucas, an assistant professor of Near Eastern Studies who spoke at the Fast-a-thon, said the idea of the fasting was to help people understand the hunger others face, while also drawing them closer to God.

Nearly 1 billion Muslims around the world are fasting during Ramadan, a holy monthlong holiday to commemorate the revealing of the Quran.

This year, Ramadan will end Nov. 13.

Fasting has many beneficial aspects, said Savas Tay, an optical sciences doctoral student, such as purifying the body, enhancing spirituality and washing away sin.

Aneesa Lewis, a junior who converted to Islam two years ago, said the event was important because it gave non-Muslim students a chance to objectively learn more about the Islamic religion by interacting with Muslim students.

"It's important Islam is projected by people who practice the faith correctly, not CNN or Fox News," Lewis said. "It's about breaking down ignorance."

Zachariah Azar, president of MSA, said because many people have misconstrued belief about the Islamic religion, having Muslim students and non-Muslim students sitting side by side and sharing a meal increased the strength of the community as well as promoting the issue of hunger.

Jassem Khan, vice president of MSA, said the Ramadan Fast-a-thon helped build bridges between cultures by aiming for a common cause and exposing students to different lifestyles.

Bonnie Streff, a studio arts sophomore, said it is important for students to broaden their horizons and participate in new endeavors.

"But it was difficult every time I passed the drinking fountain," Streff joked.