BYU's Aly Khalifa heads into March Madness without food or water while observing Ramadan
BYU forward Aly Khalifa will play against Duquesne on Thursday without having any food or drink after sunrise as he observes Ramadan during the NCAA Tournament
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Aly Khalifa will set his alarm for 4:30 a.m. Thursday, a witching hour for a college kid if ever there was one, and roll out of bed for the same breakfast as always: scrambled eggs, yogurt, some fruit, all washed down with a whole lot of water.
It will be the last he eats or drinks for nearly 16 hours.
Then he will pray, prostrating in accordance with Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims, not for leading BYU to victory in its game hours later against Duquesne but out of a profound sense of reverential devotion.
It is a fast Khalifa is embarking on willingly, yet one that carries with it unusual challenges during the NCAA Tournament. The energy the 6-foot-11 forward from Alexandria, Egypt, will expend on the court over 40 minutes cannot be replenished until much later in the day, after the sun mercifully drops over the horizon and darkness finally sets in.
