Obama Hosts Tuesday Dinner To Celebrate Ramadan

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Back in Washington but still with a light schedule, President Barack Obama hosts a dinner Tuesday to mark Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar during which the Koran is believed to have been first revealed.

In the event set for 8:00 pm ET at the State Dining Room of the White House, Obama will continue his outreach efforts to the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims as well as highlight the contributions of American Muslims.

The President returned to the White House on Sunday, after a week-long family vacation at Martha’s Vineyard that was interrupted by an announcement reappointing Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chairman, and marred by the death of of his staunchest ally in the current healthcare debate, Ted Kennedy.

The dinner comes nearly two weeks after Obama issued a video message marking Ramadan.

“I know this to be a festive time,” he had said. “A time when families gather, friends host iftars, and meals are shared. But I also know that Ramadan is a time of intense devotion and reflection, a time when Muslims fast during the day and perform tarawih prayers at night, reciting and listening to the entire Koran over the course of the month. These rituals remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings.”

The President, who had a Muslim father and a boyhood spent in Indonesia — the nation with the world’s largest Muslim population — had also outlined his administration’s push to mend relations with Muslims. He said many Islamic organizations joined other faith-based groups at the forefront of his “Summer of Service” program to encourage Americans to volunteer in their communities.

“Beyond America’s borders, we are also committed to keeping our responsibility to build a world that is more peaceful and secure,” he added.

“That is why we are responsibly ending the war in Iraq. That is why we are isolating violent extremists while empowering the people in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is why we are unyielding in our support for a two-state solution that recognizes the rights of Israelis and Palestinians… And that is why America will always stand for the universal rights of all people to speak their mind, practice their religion, contribute fully to society and have confidence in the rule of law.”

Obama is the first American president to use the word “Muslim” in an inaugural speech. He had also given his first TV interview after assuming office to Al Arabiya, saying, “My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.”

In March, he issued a video message to all Muslims celebrating Nowruz or the Iranian New Year. He followed this up with a trip to Ankara, where he addressed the Turkish Parliament with reminders that his own father was Muslim, and held a town hall with Turkish and international students.

He was in Cairo early June for his first visit to the Middle East as president. His visit, marked by two welcome messages from al-Qaeda calling him a “criminal,” culminated in a speech that cited “civilization’s debt to Islam” and called for “a new beginning” with the Muslim world.

Two weeks ago, Obama picked up from where he left off in Cairo.

“This new beginning must be borne out in a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other,” he said. “I believe an important part of this is listening, and in the last two months, American embassies around the world have reached out not just to governments, but directly to people in Muslim-majority countries. From around the world, we have received an outpouring of feedback about how America can be a partner on behalf of peoples’ aspirations.”

“We have listened,”he added. “We have heard you. And like you, we are focused on pursuing concrete actions that will make a difference over time.”

Obama Hosts Tuesday Dinner To Celebrate Ramadan

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