Trump Made Some Angry for Not Honoring Ramadan in the Tradition of Jefferson

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President Donald Trump made some people very angry by breaking the “tradition” of holding a White House dinner to celebrate the end of the Muslim holiday Ramadan. The media has further reported that the tradition was begun by Thomas Jefferson

Trump did remember the occasion. He issued a warm statement wishing Muslims a Happy Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.

The statement reads:

On behalf of the American people, Melania and I send our warm greetings to Muslims as they celebrate Eid al-Fitr.

With Muslims around the world, the United States renews our commitment to honor these values. Eid Mubarak.

The so-called tradition did not begin with Thomas Jefferson but with Bill Clinton who wanted to win the Muslim vote. George Bush held it because of 9/11 and Obama had one since he is very sympathetic to Muslims.

The tradition is a 20-year tradition, if three presidents holding the dinner can be called a tradition.

No one doubts the left wants it to be a tradition.

WaPo reported that Thomas Jefferson honored Islam with an Iftar dinner

This is how WaPo explained the event.

Historians believe the first iftar dinner at the White House took place in 1805, when President Thomas Jefferson hosted Sidi Soliman Mellimelli, Tunisia’s envoy to the United States, reports the Washington Post.

Although Jefferson’s working dinners usually began at 3:30 p.m., in December 1805 the invitations noted that “dinner will be on the table precisely at sun-set.”

The occasion was the presence of a Tunisian envoy to the United States, Sidi Soliman Mellimelli, who had arrived in the country just the week before, in the midst of America’s ongoing conflict with what were then known as the Barbary States.

And the reason for the dinner’s later-than-usual start was Mellimelli’s observance of Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims in which observers fast between dawn and dusk. Only after sunset do Muslims break their fast with a meal, referred to as an iftar.

That’s an inaccurate portrayal of the dinner.

What really happened is Thomas Jefferson was being polite

Jefferson and Madison were engaged in intense diplomatic negotiations with Mellimelli, the first Muslim Barbary official to the United States. This was at a time when Barbary pirates were reeking havoc on the seas.

Thomas Jefferson invited the diplomatic envoy from the Bey of Tunis, Sidi Soliman Mellimelli, to dinner when he visited Washington during Ramadan in 1805. Jefferson usually began his dinners at 3:30.

Jefferson, a polite host wanting to have a successful negotiation, changed the time to accommodate his guest. That’s all that took place.

There’s no evidence Jefferson advertised it as an Iftar dinner, nor was he honoring Islam.

There is also nothing to indicate he served food to accommodate Mellimelli’s religious requirements.

There is nothing to indicate Thomas Jefferson or any other president until Bill Clinton held an Iftar dinner. That does not a tradition make.

I must have missed the FDR, Truman and Reagan Iftar dinners. I missed Lincoln’s Iftar dinner too. What a joke that WaPo article is. More WaPo fake news.

There is no tradition.


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John Smith
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John Smith
6 years ago

WE are a Christian Nation ! God Bless America. If you want to celebrate Ramadan go to the Middle East.

Cry and Howl
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Cry and Howl
6 years ago

Three presidents out of 45 honored the Muslim “holy day?” Geez, That does kind of redefine the word “tradition.”