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