Rice hailed the compassion, cooperation and charity reflected in Islam. (Reuters)

Washington, October 26 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday, October 25, thanked Muslims for their generous donations for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the recent quake that rattled South Asia.

"In recent months, Muslims around the world have demonstrated the qualities of generosity and benevolence that are at the heart of religious traditions surrounding the holy month of Ramadan," the Muslim News quoted Rice as telling the State Department's seventh annual Iftar in Washington.

Hailing the compassion, cooperation and charity reflected in Islam, Rice said in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Muslim nations extended some of the most generous offers of support that America received.

"And after the recent earthquake in South Asia, the entire world watched as thousands of Muslims, deep in the observance of Ramadan, led the relief effort without breaking their fast."

She added that she learnt through the years that Ramadan inspires more than a billion Muslims all across the world to renew their bonds to family and friends, to neighbours and colleagues, and most of all to God.

A coalition of major American Islamic groups have formed a task force to coordinate humanitarian relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, raising some $10 million for the effort.

Hurricane Katrina hit the US Gulf Coast just outside the city of New Orleans on August 29 and swept devastation through the area with winds of up to 145 mph ( 233 km/h ).

The killer storm sent a devastating wall of water into Mississippi and 80% of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, is submerged by waters as deep as 6m (20ft).

There are an estimated seven million Muslims in the United States.

Recognition

Rice also added that Muslims in all nations deserve the basic human rights to which all people aspire.

This include “the right to live without oppression, the right to worship without persecution, and the right to think and speak and assemble without wrongful retribution,” she added.

Policies of the Bush administration, coupled with some media campaigns, are widely to blame for increasing hate feelings against the Muslim minority in the United States, following the 9/11 attacks.

The Iftar took place after sunset, the time when Muslims break their dawn-to-dusk fast and Muslim participants broke the fast with water and dates before performing the Maghrib (sunset) prayer.

Among those who attended the banquet were Nihad Awad, executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), as well as representatives of other local and national Muslim organizations, Muslim students, diplomats from Islamic countries, and State Department officials.

"These types of events represent a growing recognition of the positive role Islamic teachings and American Muslims can play in helping to promote peace and justice in this country and around the world," said Awad.

"We appreciate Secretary Rice's efforts to reach out and dialogue with American Muslim leaders."

CAIR has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Ramadan is the ninth month on the Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims, except children, the sick and travelling, abstain from food, drink and sex from break of dawn to sunset.

The holy month, which started on October 5 in the United States, is a time for Muslims to feel closer to God through prayer and self-restraint.