Washington DC: US President Barack Obama celebrated the Ramadan holiday by hosting a dinner at the White House on Tuesday. He greeted all his guests with the traditional Ramadan Karim.
The dinner is seen as a way for Obama to reach out to Muslims in the country and rebuild relations with the Muslim world.
He honoured the contributions of Muslim Americans at the event referring to Islam as a religion of justice and progress.
"Together, we have a responsibility to foster engagement grounded in mutual interest and mutual respect. And that's one of my fundamental commitments as President, both at home and abroad. 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. So tonight, we celebrate a great religion, and its commitment to justice and progress. We honor the contributions of America's Muslims, and the positive example that so many of them set through their own lives. And we rededicate ourselves to the work of building a better and more hopeful world," Obama said at the dinner.
Obama, whose family includes Muslims, spent some of his formative years in the Muslim country of Indonesia. Obama follows in the tradition of his predecessor George W Bush who held Ramadan dinners while he was in office.
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