After last year's deliberate break with tradition, President Donald Trump has resumed the iftar dinner – the sundown meal during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. An estimated 3.3 million American Muslims celebrate Ramadan.
The place setting for the President prior to an Iftar dinner in 2011. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
The month of Ramadan marks the time when Prophet Muhammad is believed to have first received revelations from God and has been celebrated at the White House since 1996. It was Hillary Clinton who started the tradition as first lady. However, last year, the Trump White House did not host the traditional reception. Neither did the State Department under Secretary Rex Tillerson, even though the holiday has been commemorated there since 1999.
Despite the relatively recent nature of these formal celebrations, the fact is that Islam's presence in North America dates to the founding of the nation, and even earlier, as my book, “Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders,” demonstrates.
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