President Obama spoke out against intolerance at the annual Iftar dinner marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, reports the Christian Science Monitor.
Obama further called on all Americans to stand against religious, racial and ethnic prejudices and hateful acts that have pervaded his presidency.
During his speech, Obama mentioned the killing of the three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, N.C. and the recent killing of nine black church members in Charleston, S.C. Both events were mentioned as examples of hate crimes.
“As Americans, we insist that nobody should be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, who they love, how they worship,” Obama said. “We stand united against these hateful acts.”
A few young Muslim Americans with notable achievements attended the event.
In attendance was Samantha Elauf, a young Muslim who went to the Supreme Court to defend her right to wear a headscarf, or hijab, after she got rejected for wearing a hijab to a sales job interview in Oklahoma.
The White House also invited two Muslim Minnesota residents, Munira Khalif, who was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools this year, and Kadra Mohamad, St. Paul’s first female Somali American police officer.
While the first Iftar dinner was held in 1805, the tradition of the annual dinner was started by former President Bill Clinton, at the urging of his wife Hilary Clinton, and has continued ever since.
You can watch President Obama’s entire remarks at the dinner in the clip below.
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