Obama Displayed Thomas Jefferson's Koran At White House Ramadan Dinner

Via Drudge

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

August 10, 2012

Remarks by the President at Iftar Dinner

East Room

8:40 P.M. EDT

     THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)  Please, please have a seat.  Good evening, everyone.  And welcome to the White House.

Of all the freedoms we cherish as Americans, of all the rights that we hold sacred, foremost among them is freedom of religion, the right to worship as we choose.  It’s enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution -- the law of the land, always and forever.  It beats in our heart -- in the soul of the people who know that our liberty and our equality is endowed by our Creator.  And it runs through the history of this house, a place where Americans of many faiths can come together and celebrate their holiest of days -- and that includes Ramadan.

As I’ve noted before, Thomas Jefferson once held a sunset dinner here with an envoy from Tunisia -- perhaps the first Iftar at the White House, more than 200 years ago.  And some of you, as you arrived tonight, may have seen our special display, courtesy of our friends at the Library of Congress -- the Koran that belonged to Thomas Jefferson.  And that's a reminder, along with the generations of patriotic Muslims in America, that Islam -- like so many faiths -- is part of our national story.

This evening, we’re honored to be joined by members of our diplomatic corps, members of Congress -- including Muslim American members of Congress, Keith Ellison and Andre Carson -- as well as leaders from across my administration.  And to you, the millions of Muslim Americans across our country, and to the more than one billion Muslims around the world -- Ramadan Kareem.

Now, every faith is unique.  And yet, during Ramadan, we see the traditions that are shared by many faiths:  Believers engaged in prayer and fasting, in humble devotion to God.  Families gathering together with love for each other.  Neighbors reaching out in compassion and charity, to serve the less fortunate.  People of different faiths coming together, mindful of our obligations to one another -- to peace, justice and dignity for all people -- men and women.  Indeed, you know that the Koran teaches, "Be it man or woman, each of you is equal to the other."

And by the way, we’ve seen this in recent days.  In fact, the Olympics is being called "The Year of the Woman."  (Laughter.)  Here in America, we’re incredibly proud of Team USA -- all of them -- but we should notice that a majority of the members are women.  Also, for the very first time in Olympic history, every team now includes a woman athlete.  And one of the reasons is that every team from a Muslim-majority country now includes women as well.  And more broadly -- that's worth applauding.  (Applause.)  Absolutely.

More broadly, we’ve seen the extraordinary courage of Muslim women during the Arab Spring -- women, right alongside men, taking to the streets to claim their universal rights, marching for their freedom, blogging and tweeting and posting videos, determined to be heard.  In some cases, facing down tanks, and braving bullets, enduring detentions and unspeakable treatment, and at times, giving their very lives for the freedom that they seek -- the liberty that we are lucky enough to enjoy here tonight.

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