Keeping the Faith Zine by Ramy Youssef

I started fasting Ramadan when I was six years old. No one told me I had to, but I wanted to. I wanted to feel close to God. I wanted discipline. I wanted to be good. I also think my Mom gave me a doughnut in the middle of each day.

Today, I’m almost 30, and I just finished a Ramadan that I desperately needed. No food, no water, no shortcuts. If anything, I wish it lasted longer. I was physically distant from my community, but I was connecting in new ways.

This zine is a series of conversations I had this Ramadan with some old friends and some new ones. Faith is the subject of my show, Ramy, but I also love talking about it with people, especially those I’ve just met. It’s really hard to know who someone is, or to even know who you are, but I think what we believe in says more about us than anything else.

We’re always changing. In many ways we’re different people every day. What’s a little clearer, however, is knowing who you want to be. What do you believe in? Who is your higher self? What deal have you made with God? How do you submit to what’s out there—God, or more specifically, that which is beyond description.