Ramadan Essays

Why I Still Fast During Ramadan

I know the ways in which I fail in the face of my beliefs, and yet I wish to consider myself forgiven once each year.

I've always been deeply sexual and deeply religious. Traveling through my many selves taught me that those two don't have to be incompatible.

When I moved away from home, I almost gave up on Ramadan. But an online confession helped me find my way back to it.

Adultery was the last Muslim taboo I hadn’t broken. When I finally did cheat, it helped me see that my marriage needed to end.

For billions of Muslims in the world with billions of differences among them, Ramadan and Eid are rare moments of shared experience.

I left my black Muslim bubble in Atlanta. Five years later, I had to learn how to return.

Running through punk circles taught me that the only person who can define my Islam is me.

Though I’m far from home, the tenor of anti-Muslim discourse is still the same – and escalating.