By Askia Muhammad

THE WHITE HOUSE— President Barack Obama praised Muslims in this country for enriching the American culture, and paid tribute to what he called “a great religion and its commitment to justice and progress,” at an Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and prayer, in the State Dining Room on Sept. 1.
“The contributions of Muslims to the United States are too long to catalog because Muslims are so interwoven into the fabric of our communities and our country,” Mr. Obama told the audience which included three Cabinet secretaries, members of the diplomatic corps and members of Congress—including Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Andre Carson, (D-Ind.), the first two Muslim Congress members. Guests also included Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.),  House Judiciary Committee Chair and the Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus; Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.) and Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Since taking office, Mr. Obama has made a special effort to reach out to the Islamic world to repair U.S. relations with the world’s Muslims. He made visits to Turkey and Egypt, and in a June speech in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, the President said: “America is not — and never will be — at war with Islam.”
Mr. Obama also released a video message to Muslims before the start to Ramadan. In the video, he said Ramadan’s rituals are a reminder of the principles Muslims and Christians have in common, including advancing justice, progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.
White House dinners marking Ramadan are nothing new. Former President George W. Bush held Iftar dinners during his eight years in office, but his efforts were intended exclusively for international consumption. Aside from administration officials, all of Mr. Bush’s guests were diplomats from countries with large Muslim populations, and with the exception of 2001 and 2002, the White House Iftar celebrations excluded reporters from U.S. media outlets.
Mr. Obama, on the other hand welcomed American Muslim community leaders, including Imam Yusuf Saleem of Masjid Muhammad in Washington, D.C.; and Imam Plemon El-Amin of Atlanta Masjid al-Islam. Both men are members of the American Society of Muslims, which was led until his death in 2008 by Imam Warithudeen Mohammed.
Mr. Obama shared the story of a number of Muslims born in this country, including Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, who broke the Massachusetts state record formerly held by Rebecca Lobos, for most career points scored by a female high school basketball player. “She recently told a reporter, ‘I’d like to really inspire a lot of young Muslim girls if they want to play basketball.  Anything is possible. They can do it too.’ As an honor student, as an athlete on her way to (the University of) Memphis, Bilqis is an inspiration not simply to Muslim girls, she's an inspiration to all of us,” Mr. Obama said.
He also noted the contributions of, and borrowed a quote explaining religion from boxer Muhammad Ali.  ”A few years ago, he explained this view—and this is part of why he’s The Greatest—saying, ‘Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams, they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do, they all contain truths.’ ”
Mr. Obama also praised Nashala Hearn, from Muskogee, Okla. Ms. Hearn took a stand for the First Amendment-guaranteed right of freedom of Religion, at an early age, he said. “When her school district told her that she couldn't wear the hijab, she protested that it was a part of her religion.
“The Department of Justice stood behind her and she won her right to practice her faith. She even traveled to Washington to testify before Congress. Her words spoke to a tolerance that is far greater than mistrust -- when she first wore her headscarf to school, she said, ‘I received compliments from the other kids,’” Mr. Obama continued.
Ramadan is a month-long period of prayer, reflection and sunrise-to-sunset fasts, which began Aug. 22 in most of the Islamic world. Muslims believe that Allah (God) began revealing the Holy Quran to Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (PBUH) during Ramadan, and the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims spend the month in religious reflection, prayer and remembrance of the poor.
“Tonight's Iftar is a ritual that is also being carried out this Ramadan at kitchen tables and mosques in all 50 states,” said Mr. Obama. “Islam, as we know, is part of America.  And like the broader American citizenry, the American Muslim community is one of extraordinary dynamism and diversity, with families that stretch back generations and more recent immigrants; with Muslims of countless races and ethnicities, and with roots in every corner of the world.
“Together, we have a responsibility to foster engagement grounded in mutual interest and mutual respect.  And that’s one of my fundamental commitments as president, both at home and abroad. That is central to the new beginning that I’ve sought between the United States and Muslims around the world. And that is a commitment that we can renew once again during this holy season.
“So tonight, we celebrate a great religion and its commitment to justice and progress. We honor the contributions of America's Muslims, and the positive example that so many of them set through their own lives. And we rededicate ourselves to the work of building a better and more hopeful world,” Mr. Obama said.