For nearly a decade, Jihad Saleh Williams has served as a Ramadan wrangler for official Washington, keeping a spreadsheet to make sure there was no overlap as government departments planned events for the Islamic holy month.

Saleh Williams, government liaison for the nonprofit Islamic Relief, saw his roster grow every year as more federal offices began holding iftars, the meal that ends the daily fast at sundown. Even non-US organizations such as the World Bank signed on. He’s especially proud of a celebration that drew 1,000 people to the US Capitol in 2009.

Now, however, the Washington Ramadan scene is in the midst of what Saleh Williams politely calls “an off year.” Put more bluntly, the momentum he helped to build over eight years has ground to a halt under President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly bashed Islam and spread bogus claims about American Muslims.

With Ramadan starting at the end of the week and no invitations yet, there’s a guessing game among Muslim political types: Will Trump continue the tradition of a White House iftar? And if he does, would anybody go?

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