Ramadan is American

It survived enslavement. It shaped diplomacy. It was always here.

Ramadan Mubarak to those who celebrate!

Ramadan lights in Queens, New York / February 2026

I’ve been thinking about how Ramadan, Lent, and Chinese New Year all landed in the same week this year. A spiritual and cosmic shift—because we needed something. Two and a half years of watching the Palestinian genocide on our screens, and now watching American families being ripped apart by ICE, again, on our screens. The PTSD of simply being a witness is already taking a toll on all of us. And I think that kind of exhaustion—the kind that doesn’t go away after sleep—is often what pushes people back toward faith.

Ramadan has always been the time I sit most honestly in my Muslimness, which is complicated. The version of Islam I grew up with and the version I’m finding my way toward now do this little dance—not just during Ramadan, but every single day. I’m not sure the dance ever fully resolves. I’m not sure it’s supposed to.

So this year, in true Port of Entry fashion, I’m exploring the historical …