"Islam gave birth to a rich civilization of learning that has benefited mankind," Bush

WASHINGTON, December 6 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. President George W. Bush marked the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan Thursday, December 5, by celebrating Islam as "a rich civilization of learning" and noting the contributions of American Muslims.

"On behalf of Laura and our family and the American people, I bring our best wishes to all who worship here and to Muslims throughout the world for a joyous Eid and for health and happiness and prosperity in the year to come," he said.

"Islam brings hope and comfort to more than a billion people worldwide," Bush said in a ceremony at the high-ceiled mosque of Washington's ornate Islamic Center, speaking under a bronze chandelier donated by Egypt.

"Islam affirms God's justice and insists on man's moral responsibility. . . . Islam gave birth to a rich civilization of learning that has benefited mankind," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted him as saying.

The Islamic center, which its cornerstone was laid in 1949, also features carpets given by Iran, and wall tiles from Turkey.

"Here in the United States, our Muslim citizens are making many contributions in business, science and law, medicine and education, and in other fields," Bush said on marking Eid-ul-Fitr.

"Millions of our fellow Americans practice the Muslim faith," Bush said. "They lead lives of honesty and justice and compassion."

The U.S. leader's tribute to Islam came a day after lighting a White House Menorah for the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah, and hours before he lit the national Christmas tree as part of a 24-hour span in which he honored all three divine religions.

Bush also taped an Eid-ul-Fitr message for broadcast on Voice of America and sent greetings in writing to leaders of several Islamic nations.

Muslims worldwide marked Eid-ul-Fitr with the traditional celebrations tinged with anxiety over unending violence in the occupied Palestinian territories, the prospects of a war on Iraq, and lingering anti-Islamic sentiment in the West since the September 11 attacks.

Commenting on the visit, the Washington Post said Bush "pushed ahead yesterday with his administration's efforts to portray Islam in a favorable light, returning to the Islamic Center of Washington for a second visit to the mosque he toured in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."

"Bush's speech at the Islamic Center, on Massachusetts Avenue near Rock Creek Park, was the 17th time since the terrorist attacks that the president has devoted a speech, or a passage of a major speech, to confirming the peaceful and humanitarian values of Islam," said the paper.

"In doing so, Bush has defied the wishes of several religious and military conservatives who say he should regard the religion as hostile to the United States," it asserted.

The White House has created a page on its Web site featuring the new postage stamp honoring the Muslim holiday of Eid and displaying a photograph of Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill at an Iftar dinner in Islamabad, Pakistan.

The page also noted Iftar dinners, which celebrate the Ramadan holiday, attended by national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Assistant Secretary of State William Burns and Bush himself.

Last month, the White House issued a compilation of Bush quotations titled "In the President's Words: Respecting Islam."

The purpose of the regular references to Islam as a benign faith is to prevent discrimination against American Muslims and to demonstrate to Muslim countries, such as Pakistan and Indonesia, that the United States is hostile to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's regime but not to Muslims generally.

American Muslim groups have urged Bush to speak out more forcefully against conservatives who have maligned Islam as an enemy of the United States.

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