It's Ramadan at Obama's White House

UPDATED 12:02 am: Obama Calls Islam Part of America at White House Ramadan Dinner on the fifth anniversary of Beslan.

President Barack Obama highlighted the contributions made by Muslims to American culture and the “dynamism and diversity” of the Islamic community.

“Islam, as we know, is part of America,” Obama said at a White House dinner celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. “Together we have a responsibility to foster engagement grounded in mutual interest and mutual respect.”

“That’s one of my fundamental commitments as president both at home and abroad,” Obama said. “That is central to the new beginning that I’ve sought between the United States and Muslims around the world and that is a commitment that we can renew once again during this holy season.”

Honoring Ramadan, which began Aug. 22, is the latest part of Obama’s sustained outreach efforts to the Muslim world. The president pledged during a June 4 speech in Cairo, Egypt to “seek a new beginning” between the U.S. and Islam.

Seated next to Obama was Bilquis Abdul-Qaadir, a devout Muslim who, as a high-school basketball player in Massachusetts, scored more than 3,000 points, breaking the state record -- while wearing a traditional hijab." (here)

Singling her out for a round of applause and noting that she’s under five foot five inches tall, Obama said Abdul-Qaadir is “an inspiration not simply to Muslim girls, she’s an inspiration to all of us.” 

It should have been Rifqa Bary. Rifqa should have been seated next to Obama. He should have singled her out for singular courage.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                                   September 1, 2009

Below is a list of some of the expected attendees at tonight’s White House dinner celebrating Ramadan:

CABINET
Secretary Robert Gates, Department of Defense
Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Justice
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services

DEPUTY CABINET SECRETARIES
Deputy Secretary Dennis Hightower, Department of Commerce
Deputy Secretary Tony Miller, Department of Education

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
Congressman Andre Carson (Indiana 7th)
Congressman John Conyers (Michigan 14th)
Congressman Keith Ellison (Minnesota 5th)
Congressman Rush Holt (New Jersey 12th)
Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN)

DIPLOMATIC CORPS
Ambassador Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al Hussein, Jordan
Ambassador Adel A.M. Al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia
Ambassador Husain Haqqani, Pakistan
Ambassador Erlan A. Idrissov, Kazakhstan
Ambassador His Excellency Said Tayeb Jawad, Afghanistan
Ambassador Aziz Mekouar, Morocco
Ambassador Peter N.R.O. Ogego, Kenya
Ambassador Roble Olhaye, D’jibouti
Ambassador Michael Oren, Israel

From the Washington Post here: (hat tip Laura)

Asked about the unusual step of inviting the Israeli ambassador to the dinner, the White House described it as a small part of the event." we thought it was an opportunity to reach out to ambassadors of nations with sizable Muslim populations, including the ambassadors of France, the [United Kingdom], India, and Israel."

It's indecent.

Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, Indonesia
Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, Germany
Ambassador Meera Shankar, India
Ambassador Nabi Sensoy, Turkey
Ambassador Sir Nigel Elton Sheinwald, United Kingdom
Ambassador Sameh Hassan Shoukry, Egypt
Ambassador Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida’ie, Iraq
Ambassador Pierre Nicolas Vimont, France
Chargé d'Affaires Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Bangladesh
Chargé d'Affaires Ilango Karuppanan, Malaysiav
Chargé d'Affaires Mohamed O Maiga,
Chargé d'Affaires Angela Oi Foong Shim, Brunei
Chargé d'Affaires Baba Gana Wakil, Nigeria
Mr. Maen Areikat, Chief of Mission, PLO

COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Ms. Bilquis Abdul-Qaadir, University of Memphis
Professor Azizah Al-Hibri, University of Richmond School of Law
Ms. Reema Ali, Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights
Mr. Hasan Chandoo, Oppenheimer & Co.

Mr. Hasan Chandoo, Oppenheimer & Co. $100,000 donation bundler and the Pakistani friend whose family opened their home to Obama during his 1981 visit to Pakistan.

Over at Free Republic (hat tip Laura)

"For some reason Barack Obama has never mentioned his three week stay in Pakistan in any of his writings. On the infamous San Francisco trip in which Obama called small town Americans “bitter” he also bragged that he had more foreign policy credentials than Hillary Clinton and John McCain. One of the things he listed on his resume was his extensive foreign travel including a 1981 trip to Pakistan. However since this admission, slip of the tongue, or however you would characterize it, Obama has never mentioned this trip again.

Although his campaign manager did discuss it when pressed:

As a freshman, he quickly became friends with Mohammed Hasan Chandoo and Wahid Hamid, two wealthy Pakistanis In 1981, Obama transferred from Occidental to Columbia. In between, he traveled to Pakistan - a trip that enhanced his foreign policy qualifications, he maintained in a private speech at a San Francisco fundraiser last month. Obama spent “about three weeks” in Pakistan, traveling with Hamid and staying in Karachi with Chandoo’s family, said Bill Burton, Obama’s press secretary.

The Chandoo he was referring to is Mohammed Hassan Chandoo which this website claims is now a major campaign bundler for Obama:

Bundler: Hasan Chandoo

Employer: Oppenheimer & Co State: NY Bundler Status for 2008: Bundler for Barack Obama, raised at least $100,000.00

Nathan Diament, Director, Institute for Public Affairs, Orthodox Union*
Imam Plemon El-Amin, Atlanta Masjid al-Islam

Imam Plemon El-Amin of the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam and chairman of the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta addressed the audience at the press conference, held at the Atlanta Masjid:

Metro-Atlanta Muslim leaders condemn Muhammad cartoons (here)

The statement also noted that “the right to freedom of expression” has limits and reminded Muslims and non-Muslims alike of the Prophet Muhammad’s words: “The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger.”

 

 

"Under U.S. and International law, the right to freedom of expression is not considered unlimited and is only considered legitimate when in pursuit of an aim recognized as legitimate and should not violate the rights and reputations of others nor violate the preservation of national security or public order, health and morals. Slanderous, libelous, demeaning and demonizing images that provoke public anger and discord cannot be considered legitimate exercises of free speech."

Mr. Wahid Hamid, PepsiCo

Hamid is Obama's other travel companion from 1981 Pakistani visit

Ms. Dina Hammad
Mr. Lutfi Hassan
Ms. Nashala Hearn
Ms. Rosalind Hearn
Imam Yahya Hendi, Chaplain, Georgetown University
Pastor Joel Hunter, Northland Church*
Mr. Nooman Husain
Mr. Imad Hussain
Mr. Sanford Ibrahim, CEO, Radian Group
Mr. Jameel Jaffer, Staff Attorney, ACLU

He's the ACLU GITMO guy-I'm sure he's great friends with Holder-bet they sat together for dinner

Jameel Jaffer is a litigator for the National Legal Department of the ACLU. Mr. Jaffer is currently counsel to the plaintiffs in ACLU et al. v. Department of Defense, litigation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that has resulted in the release of tens of thousands of documents concerning the treatment of prisoners held by the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan, and at Guant�namo Bay Naval Base. Since 2002, Mr. Jaffer has also served as counsel in several of the most significant cases involving the USA Patriot Act. Before joining the staff of the ACLU, he served as law clerk to Hon. Amalya L. Kearse, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and then to Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada.

Mr. Jaffer on NPR interview titled ACLU Leads Investigation into Detainee Torture:

Mrs. Elsheba Khan
Dr. Mansur Khan, UMMA Community Clinic
Ms. Farhana Khera, Muslim Advocates

"she worked for six years directly for Senator Russell D. Feingold (D-WI), the Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee. Ms. Khera focused substantially on the USA PATRIOT Act, racial and religious profiling, and other civil liberties issues raised by the government's anti-terrorism policies since September 11, 2001. She was the Senator's lead staff member in developing anti-racial profiling legislation and organizing subcommittee hearings on racial profiling"

 

AND SHE HAS THE POWER TO APPROVE MUSLIM CHARITIES AS OKAY AND NOT AFFILIATED WITH TERRORISTS.(Philanthropy .com)

 

Lt. Commander Abuhena Saifulislam, U.S. Marine Corps
Mr. Kareem Salama
Imam Yusuf Saleem, Masjid Muhammad
Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President, Islamic Society of North America
Mr. Farooq Mitha
Ms. Dalia Mogahed, Director, Gallup Center for Muslim Studies*
Ms. Hutham Olayan, Olayan America Corp.
Mr. Eboo Patel, Interfaith Youth Corps*
Imam Yusuf Saleem, Masjid Muhammad
Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism*
Ms. Mina Trudeau, Executive Director, El Fatiha Foundation
Mr. J. Saleh Williams, Congressional Muslim Staffers Association
Mr. Mohamed Zakariya, Zakariya Calligraphy

*denotes members of the President’s Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships

This release has been corrected. hat tip Laura

Terror has a place setting at the White House

Robert takes down Mattson, one attendee, here

Dalia Mogahed here Eboo Patel here

UPDATE: Pols chowing down with US front for Hamas. OT ..."break fast" totally stolen from the Jews' Yom Kippur (like they steal everything else from us).

California Pols Break Fast with Hamas Front IPT News

Dozens of California lawmakers are expected to gather in the state Capitol this evening for an Iftar dinner – the meal breaking the daily fast for Muslims during the month of Ramadan.

In doing so, the politicians are partnering with a group that federal law enforcement officials say is a Hamas-front.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) California chapter issued a news release Monday boasting that the dinner is co-hosted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and 35 other lawmakers.