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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump just ended a long tradition of celebrating Ramadan at the White House
In the early days of December 1805, a handful of prominent politicians received formal invitations to join President Thomas Jefferson for a White House dinner.
Such entreaties were not uncommon: Jefferson frequently hosted lawmakers for political working dinners at the White House, almost always commencing them about 3:30 in the afternoon, shortly after the House or Senate had adjourned for the day.
But this gathering, scheduled for Dec. 9, would be slightly different.
dinner will be on the table precisely at sun-set the invitations read. The favour of an answer is asked.
The occasion was the presence of a Tunisian envoy to the United States, Sidi Soliman Mellimelli, who had arrived in the country just the week before, in the midst of Americas ongoing conflict with what were then known as the Barbary States.
And the reason for the dinners later-than-usual start was Mellimellis observance of Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims in which observers fast between dawn and dusk. Only after sunset do Muslims break their fast with a meal, referred to as an iftar.
Jeffersons decision to change the time of the meal to accommodate Mellimellis observance of Ramadan has been seized on by both sides in the 21st-century debate over Islam more than 200 years later. Historians have cited the meal as the first time an iftar took place in the White House and it has been referenced in recent White House celebrations of Ramadan as an embodiment of the Founding Fathers respect for religious freedom. Meanwhile, critics on the far right have taken issue with the characterization of Jeffersons Dec. 9, 1805, dinner as an iftar.
Whatever Jefferson could have foreseen for the young countrys future, it appears the modern-day White House tradition of marking Ramadan with an iftar dinner or Eid celebration has come to an end.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-just-ended-a-long-tradition-of-celebrating-ramadan-at-the-white-house/ar-BBCOn4J?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=edgsp
Gothmog
(145,130 posts)Last edited Sat Jun 24, 2017, 10:04 PM - Edit history (1)
Va Lefty
(6,252 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,445 posts)even if their families have been here for generations more than his.
judesedit
(4,437 posts)He's a sorry loser who doesn't give a shit about anyone else or anything else. He makes me want to vomit everytime I see or hear that asshole to be perfectly honest.