[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 1 (Monday, January 10, 2000)]
[Pages 22-23]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message on the Observance of Id al-Fitr, 2000

January 6, 2000

    Warm greetings to Muslims across the United States and around the 
world as the holy month of Ramadan comes to a close and you celebrate 
the festival of Id al-Fitr.
    The month of fasting that Muslims everywhere are completing is not 
only a sacred duty; it is also a powerful teaching, a gift from Islam to 
the world. It reminds not just Muslims but all people of our obligation 
to aid those who face poverty and suffering. It reminds us that we must 
work together to build a better, more humane world.
    We hope and pray for a world where all faiths are respected; where 
people of different beliefs and ethnic backgrounds can live together in 
harmony, finding strength and joy in our differences and in our common 
humanity. And we pray that the new moon will bring a new era of peace 
between nations--in the Middle East and all across the world--so people 
can emerge from the

[[Page 23]]

shadows of violence and make better lives for their children.
                                                  Bill Clinton