Media Relations - Assignment Example

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Chairperson, Intensive English Program Phone Number: Email Address: Muslims Reunion Breaking Fast Hosted: Ramadan and its SignificanceIntensive English Program will aim at bringing all Muslim students at Western Washington University (WWU) together for a breaking fast celebration at which they shall be enlightened more on the significance of Ramadan.NEW YORK, June 12, 2014 – The Muslim community at Western Washington University (WWU) through their Intensive English Program today announced that they would be holding a breaking fast for all its Muslim student members in the university on 29th June, 2014.

The venue for the reunion shall be at Viking Union 462 and students are expected to carry their packed lunches. There are several significant values that are attached to the Ramadan festivities in the Islam calendar, and being the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims are mostly expected to fast from dawn till sunset for about 29 or 30 days. Given that the Islamic calendar is determined by the lunar cycle including the Ramadan that comes after the ninth month, with the glimpsing of the new moon (Murray, 2012).

Taken from the Arabic word ar-ramad implying dryness or scotching heat, Ramadan signifies a mandatory fasting season for the adult Muslims in which in the entire ‘blessed month’ they are required to abstain from foods, drinks and other physical needs. Ramadan is intended to be a time for cleansing the soul, focusing attention on God and enthusiastic self-sacrifice. Eating begins after sunset, taking into consideration the aspect of cleansing the soul for God. Hence, Ramadan can be perceived as a period when Muslims are educated on matters of spirituality, patience and humility (Murray, 2012).

Persons are required not to engage in defiling activities that may hinder their purity. In other aspects Muslims are required to restrain their bodies, particularly the tongue from aspects of gossip and backbiting. Immediately after Ramadan, follows the celebrations for the holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr. Non-Muslims should perceive this month as a highlighting of the Muslim brotherhood customs, and brings a special feeling of closeness (Murray, 2012).This quote about Ramadan would be beneficial to the learning of the attendees: “The philosophy of fasting calls upon us to know ourselves, to master ourselves, and to discipline ourselves the better to free ourselves.

To fast is to identify our dependencies, and free ourselves from them.”- Tariq Ramadan.“Fasting is a shield with which a servant protects himself from the fire.”- Ahmad Saheeh.For more information, visit the website of Western Washington University (WWU) at www.wwu.edu or contact the attendee registration at:__________________Eid mubarak (A Blessed Eid)ReferenceMurray, J. (2012). Ramadan. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub. Co.http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/tariqramad531528.htmlhttp://muslimagnet.tumblr.com/post/55426155818/fasting-is-a-shield-with-which-a-.