Donald Trump has not hosted an iftar dinner during Ramadan, breaking a nearly 20-year tradition.
Is two decades a tradition?
And how many such religious festivities should the White House follow? Muslims are some 1% of Americans, Jews 2% (or so). Passover at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave? 0.7% Hindu and Buddhist each. By some estimates Eastern Orthodox outnumber Muslims. Jan 6 th celebrations, just where are they?
it’s identity politics. Host a dinner, get votes. Trumps people know he’s not going to get the Muslim vote.
It is almost like violence gets your religion more respected not less.
Malcolm Turnbull didn’t hold one at Kirribilli House this year, breaking a one year tradition. His act of tokenism last year did not go down well.
The Left being a body much wedded to traditions…
None so conservative as the Left.
Hitch on Thomas Jefferson’s Islamic outreach:
How many know that perhaps 1.5 million Europeans and Americans were enslaved in Islamic North Africa between 1530 and 1780? […]
When they inquired by what right the Barbary states preyed upon American shipping, enslaving both crews and passengers, America’s two foremost envoys were informed that “it was written in the Koran, that all Nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon whoever they could find and to make Slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.”
“Hillary Clinton resurrected the event when she was First Lady in February 1996, hosting about 150 people for a reception for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month.”
Yeah,well… S’pect she’d heard it was traditional to make gifts.
“How many know that perhaps 1.5 million Europeans and Americans were enslaved in Islamic North Africa between 1530 and 1780?”
How does this figure compare to the numbers taken in the Atlantic slave trade?
Abacab: how does that compare with numbers taken east and northwards into Muslim countries(bearing in mind most males were deprived of their genitalia en route, only one in seven surviving)?
Shockingly, it turns out the Guardian’s claim that Thomas Jefferson hosted an iftar celebration in 1805 is Fake News:
The often-used claim that Thomas Jefferson held the first Iftar dinner at the White House was trotted out by the Post’s Wang. She recounted the time when the diplomatic envoy from the Bey of Tunis, Sidi Soliman Melli Melli, visited Washington during Ramadan in 1805.
Jefferson invited the envoy to the White House for dinner at 3:30 PM—the time most Washingtonians had dinner in those days. But after he sent the invitation he was told that Melli Melli could not partake of a meal until after sunset because of Ramadan. Thomas Jefferson was faced with two choices: cancel the dinner entirely or simply have the meal later in the evening at a time when his guest could attend. As a good host and a decent person, Jefferson chose the latter.
In fact, all Jefferson did was change the time of his meal. He had no intention of honoring Islam. Jefferson simply was not honoring the religion of “the Musselmen”—as he termed Muslims at the time—when he changed the time of the meal. Also, there is no evidence that Jefferson asked Melli Melli what sort of food a “Musselman” would eat, so no special food was prepared to suit a Muslim’s religious needs. Jefferson neither inquired about religious accommodations nor was any made. All he did was move the time of the meal as a courtesy.
Further, Jefferson sent no letters containing proclamations about the meal being an Iftar dinner nor mentioning Islam, he never mentioned such honors in his private papers, and there is no record that he spoke to anyone about his intentions to honor the Muslim practice of an Iftar dinner.
No mention of the traditional LGBTQIA+ White House foam party started by Calvin Coolidge in 1926 though.
How does this figure compare to the numbers of people who flew on British Airways yesterday?
TIS: “…trotted out by the Post’s Wang.”
*sniggers*
[I]t’s identity politics. Host a dinner, get votes. Trump’s people know he’s not going to get the Muslim vote.
Be careful about the superficial assumptions you make about identity politics… You might be surprised at how wrong you can be.
I work within a large (40,000+) Muslim community (Somali) and I can tell you the support for Trump within that community was both early and ardent. In fact, it was the enthusiasm of one young Muslim (USA born, college educated) of my acquaintance during the first Republican primaries that convinced me that Trump was on to something.
Whether of Middle Eastern or African descent, the majority of Muslims in ‘Merica are culturally conservative. The Democratic Party’s embrace of gays, transsexuals and feminists doesn’t go down well in communities that value marriage, monogamy and heterosexuality. Homosexuality is haram, and most Muslims take that quite seriously.
Beyond that, and especially amongst Muslims of African descent, the realization has come that all the Democratic Party can offer them is what African-Americas already have… Slums, bad schools and just enough government handouts to keep A-As rooted in the shithole communities they’ve inhabited for generations.
After the election one Somali Muslim told me that he found it funny that the local Democratic Party had spent so much money busing Somalis to polling places… Because in his opinion Trump probably won a large majority of in that community.
Oh, one more thing: If you think an African or Middle Eastern male is going to vote for a woman, well… I got some land to sell ya.
Perhaps Trump is actually honoring the constitution.
Were Trump to hold a dinner honoring Catholics the ACLU would launch a thousand lawsuits, so what’s special about Islam?
@ Fred Z
If Trump does *anything* the MSM will complain about it. [If he dropped dead, they’d complain about Mike Pence becoming President]
JuliaM – Naughty girl!
Dennis – the majority of Muslims in ‘Merica are culturally conservative
Hmmm. Seems we’ve heard this one before, about Mexicans, but somehow these itinerant “natural conservatives” always end up voting for the party offering the most Free Shit at their hosts’ expense. It’s a real head-scratcher.
How conservative are Somalis? Dunno if I’d describe clit-chopping and wife-beating as “conservative”, but how do they actually vote?
Seen elsewhere:
The CAIR exit poll of more than 2,000 registered Muslim voters found that 74 percent voted for Hillary Clinton and 13 percent voted for Trump.
OTOH – that’s three times the support Romney got from Mussulmen. But OTOOH, still a crushing loss for the conservative candidate.
I reckon you’re on to something about the fragile coalition of mutually incompatible grievance groups the Left has built though. It’ll end in tears. For them.
They already celebrate Passover at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Passover_Seder
Steve –
You’re cutest when you stay away from the specifics of any particular issue… Stray into them and you show yourself to be a fool.
Remember that.
FMJ is cultural, not religious, and as such its practice isn’t uniform across different Muslim populations. For example, Somalis don’t do it and Sudanese do.
But I’m sure you already knew that.
And that you would quote CAIR as an authoritative source on anything simply reinforces the obvious: You’re out of your depth. CAIR is a Democratic Party house organ, and as such it has very little sway within many Muslim communities in ‘Merica.
And I’m sure you knew that as well.
Dennis – that is rather unkind of you to say. Hath not a Steve eyes?
FMJ is cultural, not religious, and as such its practice isn’t uniform across different Muslim populations. For example, Somalis don’t do it and Sudanese do.
Yes, it’s a fascinating and rich casserole of retarded cultural and religious norms and each group brings its own delightful flavour of dysfunction to the mix.
Some people might say we were better off when we’d never heard of FGM, Sharia, grooming gangs, and suicide bombing. But those people are small minded bigots. Bigots, I say! And a true conservative looks forward to his children’s school resembling the Mos Eisley cantina, because… reasons.
But… back to those cultural conservatives! And, uh… entrepreneurs!
And that you would quote CAIR as an authoritative source on anything simply reinforces the obvious
Yes, CAIR is tendentious, though a less gullible taqiyya-swallower might ask why the leading Mussulman lobby group in the US shills for the Democratic Party, and why heavily Somali or Moslem areas heavily vote Left, and why the first Somali legislator in the US is a Democrat, given how reliably conservative we’re assured the Mohammedans are.
Perhaps the Republicans just haven’t yet perfected the art of offering a chicken in every pot, and 72 houris in every jannah, to these khat-chewing Kirkites.
Oh dear, Dennis:
The Somali government has reaffirmed its commitment to eradicate female genital mutilation in the country, where around 98% of females between 15 and 49 have undergone cutting.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/29/somali-government-pledges-to-fight-fgm-at-first-national-forum
The Inimitable Steve said:
“No mention of the traditional LGBTQIA+ White House foam party started by Calvin Coolidge in 1926 though.”
No, that goes back to before the Revolution, to the Earl of Clarendon, cross-dressing Governor of New York.
@abacab, June 26, 2017 at 9:42 am
“How many know that perhaps 1.5 million Europeans and Americans were enslaved in Islamic North Africa between 1530 and 1780?”
.
@Ljh, June 26, 2017 at 9:53 am
“Abacab: how does that compare with numbers taken east and northwards into Muslim countries(bearing in mind most males were deprived of their genitalia en route, only one in seven surviving)?”
and the number of blacks captured like livestock by muslims and taken south west and sold in auctions.
The muslims created the black African slave trade long before we arrived. We – being free market – purchased what they were selling.
I’m going with UNICEF as a trusted source on this one, and it tells me that not only do Somalis do it, but that they are, in percentage terms, the world champions:
https://qz.com/610930/unicef-98-of-women-in-somalia-have-undergone-female-genital-mutilation/