Thursday, 28 March 2024 18:47

At the White House, Obama invites Muslims to break the fast in an official Iftar

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Barack Obama has opened the doors of the White House to Muslim Americans for a traditional iftar, the meal that breaks the fasting from dawn to sunset.

"We affirm that whatever your religion is, we are all one family," said Obama during the iftar, attended by forty diplomats, and members of Congress.

Obama has invited several young guests including Samantha Elauf, who stood before the Supreme Court to defend her right to wear the veil, or hijab. She was 17 in 2008 when she was refused a post of a saleswoman in an Abercombrie Kids store in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after wearing the veil in the interview.

"She was determined to defend her right to wear a veil and to have the same opportunities as others," said Obama. "She went to the Supreme Court - which I have not done at her age - and she won."

Barack Obama also discussed the three young Muslims killed on February 10 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the new faithful killed in a church in Charleston in South Carolina a few days ago.

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