News:

President Barack Obama used the annual White House Iftar 2014 dinner to briefly discuss the crises unfolding in the Mideast. "Even as we celebrate all that we have in common, we know that in too many corners of the world, we see violence and terror, and those who would destroy rather than build," he said. [CNN, July 15, 2014]

An excerpt from Barak Obama's speech, "Tonight, we honor the traditions of one of the world's great faiths.  For Muslims, Ramadan is a time to reflect and to remember that discipline and devotion is the essence of a life of faith.  And for all of us, whatever our faiths, Ramadan is a reminder of just how much we share.  The values of peace and charity, the importance of family and community -- these are universal values.  The command to love one another, to uphold justice, and to care for the least among us -- these are common threads in our faith traditions. Tonight we reaffirm a simple truth.  Fundamental to the character of our country is our freedom of religion -- the right to practice our faith as we choose, to change our faith if we choose, or to practice no faith at all and to do all this free from fear of.  All of us are deserving of an equal opportunity to thrive -- no matter who we are, what we look like, what we believe, or how we pray.  And all of us have an obligation to do our part -- to help others overcome barriers, to reverse the injustice of inequality and to help more of our fellow citizens share in the promise of America." [http://www.whitehouse.gov]

Comment:

Playing to numb audiences is something we as a billion strong Ummah witness day in - day out in the Governments. What traditions is Obama referring to that are shared by the Muslims attending the Iftar? Feeling as though one is privileged to be sitting at the White House is something that will be a badge of disgrace- to sit with the very same people who outrightly declare it is the fundamental right for "Israel" to defend itself and proudly boast of the War on Terrorism all the while touting character values. Would those golden human rights include spying on US Muslim activists and attorneys and Imams of mosques or would those include detaining citizens in "detainment centers" without charges for years without proper representation?

Superpowers set up the platform in which they slyly praise a few hard-timers' success stories as proof of the washed out mantra of the American Dream. Meanwhile in the control rooms strategic plans are drawn up to kill the highest number of "terrorists" only to leak out in the media that civilians were mistaken for terrorists and in finance rooms the largest platform for terrorist activity - the Congress floor - where billions dollar deals are conjured up to bombard the Muslim lands from Gaza to Afghanistan.

All the while various US community figures sit back placidly applauding the US president as they  "enjoy the soup" as Obama put it; while Gazans are blown to smithereens and Pakistanis are targeted by drone attacks and Iraqis are raped. What is it that you hope to accomplish? To rip up the Camp David Accord which appears to be written in stone or the Oslo Agreement or the Nevasha that is imposed upon the Muslim rulers to uphold or the mythical world peace or Obama's "universal values"?

While these community figures tout that through open communication or even worse sweeping apologetic remarks will help to smooth relations in order to resolve "disputes"-well these "disputes" or "conflicts" are not a vocabulary game, these are an outright war on the Muslim Ummah all throughout the world with human beings left dead, orphaned or homeless. And by engaging in Iftars with the White House will have anyone wondering - what planet do these figures live on? If you want to marvel at Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Holy Quran displayed at the White House, it might serve these whimsical attendants to read the following verse:

وَلَن تَرْضَىٰ عَنكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلَا النَّصَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى اللَّـهِ هُوَ الْهُدَىٰ ۗ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُم بَعْدَ الَّذِي جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ۙ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللَّـهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ

"And the Jews will not be pleased with you, nor the Christians until you follow their religion. Say: Surely Allah's guidance, that is the (true) guidance. And if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, you shall have no guardian from Allah, nor any helper." [al-Baqara: 120]

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Um Muhanad