President Obama used an Iftar dinner celebrating the Muslim holy season of Ramadan to talk about religious freedom in the wake of the Charleston massacre of nine black Christian parishioners by a 21-year-old white man last week.
“Our prayers remain in Charleston … we insist that no one should be targeted for who they are, how they worship,” the president told a crowd of 150 guests, including several members of Congress and dignitaries, gathered for the dinner at the White House Monday night.
“The Koran teaches us that God’s children tread gently on the earth,” he said. “…We affirm that whatever our faith, we are one family.”
Ramadan, a month of fasting before sundown lasting from June 17 to July 17 this year, he continued, requires “sacrifice, discipline and patience.”
“Together we can overcome ignorance and prejudice,” he said, noting that Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a civil rights hero, always says to “use our feet” in these struggles.
Obama will deliver the eulogy at the Friday funeral for Rev. Clementa Pickney, a South Carolina state senator and pastor of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, who was slain during last Wednesday night’s shootings. Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama also plan to attend.
Referring to Ramadan as a time when Muslims recommit themselves to their faith, Obama recognized several inspiring young people on hand for the dinner.
He specifically mentioned Samantha Elauf, who was sitting at the table. Elauf, he noted, recently won a Supreme Court case against Abercrombie & Fitch because the company initially wouldn’t let her wear her hijab to work.
He also praised Munira Khalif, a teenager who just graduated from high school, who spoke in front of the United Nations about women being counted in a census. Khalif, he said, is heading to Harvard this fall.
Reps. Andre Carson, D-Ind., and Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the only two Muslim members of Congress, were on hand for the dinner, along with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Several prominent members of the diplomatic corps also attended, including: Lukman Al Faily, Iraqi ambassador to the U.S.; Hunaina Al Mughairy, ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the U.S.; Yousif Mana Saeed Al Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the U.S.; Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ambassador to the U.S., and Sami Alsadhan, the deputy chief of mission and charge d’Affaires at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
