[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 47 (Monday, November 26, 2001)]
[Pages 1691-1692]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at an Iftaar Dinner

November 19, 2001

    Good evening, and welcome to the White House. I'm so honored to 
welcome such distinguished guests and ambassadors during the holy month 
of Ramadan.
    America is made better by millions of Muslim citizens. America has 
close and important relations with many Islamic nations. So it is 
fitting for America to honor your friendship and the traditions of a 
great faith by hosting this Iftaar at the White House.
    I want to thank our Secretary of State for being here, as well as 
members of my administration. I want to thank the Ambassadors for taking 
time in this holy month to come to join us in this feast.
    Ramadan is a time of fasting and prayer for the Muslim faithful. So 
tonight we are reminded of God's greatness and His Commandments to live 
in peace and to help neighbors in need. According to Muslim teachings, 
God first revealed His word in the Holy Koran to the Prophet Muhammad 
during the month of Ramadan. That word has guided billions of believers 
across the centuries, and those believers built a culture of learning 
and literature and science.
    All the world continues to benefit from this faith and its 
achievements. Ramadan and the upcoming holiday season are a good time 
for people of different faiths to learn more about each other. And the 
more we learn, the more we find that many commitments are broadly 
shared. We share a commitment to family, to protect and love our 
children. We share a belief in God's justice and man's moral 
responsibility. And we share the same hope for a future of peace. We 
have much in common and much to learn from one another.
    This evening we gather in a spirit of peace and cooperation. I 
appreciate your support of our objectives in the campaign against 
terrorism. Tonight that campaign continues in Afghanistan, so that the 
people of Afghanistan will soon know peace. The terrorists have no home 
in any faith. Evil has no holy days.
    This evening we also gather in the spirit of generosity and charity. 
As this feast breaks the Ramadan fast, America is also sharing our table 
with the people of Afghanistan. We are proud to play a leading role in 
humanitarian relief efforts, with airdrops and truck convoys of food and 
medicine. America's children are donating their dollars to the Afghan 
children. And my administration is committed to help reconstruct that 
country and to support a stable government that represents all of the 
people of Afghanistan.
    We are working for more opportunity and a better life for the people 
of Afghanistan and all the people of the Islamic world. America respects 
people of all faiths, and America seeks peace with people of all faiths.
    I thank you for your friendship, and I wish you a blessed Ramadan.

Note: The President spoke at 5:50 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the 
White House.

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