After the Trump administration broke a White House tradition last year of celebrating the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a Des Moines teen is trying to revive and expand the tradition.
Starting with the Clinton administration, the White House has hosted an annual iftar dinner to celebrate Ramadan. It continued through the Bush and Obama presidencies, but Donald Trump did not hold the event when he took office in 2017.
That prompted 16-year-old Roosevelt High School student Fez Zafar to start the American Iftar Dinner, which is set for June 7. He said it’s not a protest of the president’s decision to not host a White House iftar dinner.
“But instead we want to send this message beyond Washington DC. We want to send it really to the world,” Zafar said. “To show everyone that America is a nation that celebrates its diversity, and that what unites us is greater than what divides us.”
Politico reported Saturday Trump will host an iftar dinner at the White House this week. During his campaign, Trump had called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
Zafar’s American Iftar Dinner will feature a main event in Des Moines with about 200 guests, including religious leaders, scholars and lawmakers. Groups in other parts of the state and country will also host dinners. Zafar said they are encouraged to invite a “diverse group of guests.”
“I thought that it would be a good opportunity to recreate the White House iftar dinner as a movement that will celebrate not just Muslims, but all Americans, no matter their religion, culture, race or political affiliation,” Zafar said.
