South Bay Muslims fast to honor San Jose's police chief

12/5/2004 7:12:00 AM GMT

Source: kCBS

Muslims around the Bay Area decided to participate in a day of fasting Sunday to reciprocate a goodwill gesture by the police chief in San Jose.

Muslims around the world have been greatly touched when Police Chief Rob Davis joined them in their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, KCBS reporter Mike Colgan in the Santa Clara County Bureau said.

A spokesman for the Muslim community in the South Bay said that the move was aimed at showing that we "really appreciate what he did and it took a lot of effort on his part. He didn't have to do that. He could have fasted one day but he decided to do the whole month."

Chief Davis said that the only motivation he had when he decided to join the Muslims in the fasting observance was to express his support for the Muslim community. "I have absolutely no expectation that they might do something like this but it's part of the point I've been making about the Muslim community is that I've found them to be such a wonderful group of people and for them to step and say they are going to do something like this, to reciprocate, is very touching to me," he said.