I'm Brian Lehrer. This is my daily politics podcast from WNYC Studios. It's Friday, April 1st.

Happy April, everyone. This year, the month contains all three of the religious holidays, Easter, Passover, and Ramadan.

Ramadan comes first, according to Al Jazeera.

I thought it was today, but they say the beginning of Ramadan is determined by the sighting of the new moon.

And Al Jazeera says Saudi Arabia and other Muslim majority countries rely on the testimonies of moonsiders.

So the first day of fasting for the holy month of Ramadan is most likely going to be tomorrow,

Saturday, April 2nd, says Al Jazeera.

And if you're a Muslim, you might say, inshallah at the end of that sentence.

Inshallah, because it means God willing. Maybe you've

even heard non-Muslims using it. Like when Joe Biden said it during the first presidential debate

against Donald Trump, when Trump was responding to a question about his taxes and moderator Chris

Wallace asked this, will you tell us how much you paid in federal

income taxes in 2016 and 2017? Millions of dollars. You paid millions of dollars? Millions of dollars.

So not seven hundred and you'll get to see it. And you'll get to see it. But let me just tell you.

Inshala? Inshala, said Joe Biden. And from what I understand, Muslims were pretty divided over whether President Biden was using that phrase correctly,

and partly because it can be used in such a variety of ways. So just ahead of Ramadan,

which it looks like begins tonight, so the first

day of fasting is tomorrow, lest I confuse you about that. Let's talk about the concept of Inchala,

and what it means for Muslims, we'll open the phones, and how it can be used to inspire hope.

Joining me now to discuss and take your calls is Abdullah Shihipar, writer and public health

researcher based at Brown University.

His article in the New York Times Magazine is titled, Are Better Things Coming?

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