Tillerson breaks tradition of holding Ramadan event at State Dept.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will break a long bipartisan tradition by declining to hold a Ramadan event at the State Department this year, Reuters reported Friday.
Tillerson reportedly turned down a request from the State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs to host a reception at the State Department for Eid-al-Fitr. Secretaries of State from both parties have hosted Ramadan events at the State Department since Madeleine Albright began the tradition in 1999.
I have no strong feelings on this either way but I do have a question. Should the US government be holding events for any religion whatsoever? I thought government departments were supposed to be secular organizations. Why are they organizing religious stuff?
tbh, I’d imagine the organisation will be relieved.
Same reason we have a national Christmas tree and our money says “In God We Trust”
aldiboronti:
Tillerson breaks tradition of holding Ramadan event at State Dept.
I have no strong feelings on this either way but I do have a question. Should the US government be holding events for any religion whatsoever? I thought government departments were supposed to be secular organizations. Why are they organizing religious stuff?
Diplomacy. The purpose was diplomacy.
AK84
May 27, 2017, 10:42am
6
Why are people surprised?
Well, it’s not the first time. There was at least one occasion under President Obama that it didn’t happen. But, of course, that’s not noted in the OP, because Obama. :rolleyes:
The government is not to establish a religion, make it a condition of public office, or show favoritism, but it is certainly allowed to acknowledge religion and protect its free expression.
My understanding is that such events are an acknowledgement/recognition of a religious event, not a religious event in and of itself.
Ramira
May 27, 2017, 11:57am
9
DSYoungEsq:
Well, it’s not the first time. There was at least one occasion under President Obama that it didn’t happen. But, of course, that’s not noted in the OP, because Obama. :rolleyes:
amusing the knee jerking of the rolleyes.
Aldiboronti is no american and no person of the left.
John_Mace:
Mohammad wept.
On a list of things to weep about one would think the ISIS call for the global slaughter of people in celebration of Ramadan ranks significantly higher than lunch with Trump.
DSYoungEsq:
Well, it’s not the first time. There was at least one occasion under President Obama that it didn’t happen. But, of course, that’s not noted in the OP, because Obama. :rolleyes:
And you’re not linking to it. Any reason why?
DSYoungEsq:
Well, it’s not the first time. There was at least one occasion under President Obama that it didn’t happen. But, of course, that’s not noted in the OP, because Obama. :rolleyes:
White House archives
Last night’s celebration was **President Obama’s seventh Iftar dinner **at the White House. This year, in addition to inviting members of the diplomatic corps, White House staff, and elected officials, there was a special focus on young leaders and women helping communities across the nation.
2015 was Obama’s 7th year in office.
7 years, 7 dinners.
bobot
May 27, 2017, 4:21pm
13
Trump just visited Saudi Arabia. He’s got his “pretend to treat Muslims with dignity” quota met for the rest of his life.
One may decide to counter such people, yet there is no necessity to listen to their fantasies.
running_coach:
White House archives
Last night’s celebration was President Obama’s seventh Iftar dinner at the White House. This year, in addition to inviting members of the diplomatic corps, White House staff, and elected officials, there was a special focus on young leaders and women helping communities across the nation.
Geez, these people are tedious goodie-goodies.
So what happened in 2016?
The article was published in 2015. You’d know that if you had actually read it.
Washington Post.
Ramira
May 27, 2017, 5:41pm
18
So, this ’celebration’ is just the Iftar (Ftour )? It’s is the Breakfast. It is a meal not a religious ceremony.
Perhaps the phobics can get upset about something less ridiculous than a simple little fast breaking breakfast.
Iggy
May 27, 2017, 5:41pm
19
In 2016 I can find multiple reports about Secretary of State John Kerry attending an iftar reception at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society center in Sterling, Virginia. In addition to that I found a State Department statement that Secretary Kerry was planning to host a reception in honor of Eid-al-Fitr on July 12, 2016 at the State Department.
State Department archives easily show reports of hosting Ramadan events in:
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
That seems to show the State Department hosting some sort of Ramadan event each year of the Obama administration.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-ramadan-usa-tillerson-exclsu-idUSKBN18M2IE
The top U.S. diplomat has personally hosted a Ramadan event every year since 1999, often in the State Department’s grand Benjamin Franklin room, apart from three years.
In 2006 and 2015, deputies of the secretary of state at the time hosted either an iftar dinner or an Eid al-Fitr reception. In 2014, Kerry hosted a reception for Eid al-Adha, another important Muslim holiday.
I was referring to the fact that the Secretary of State himself would not be hosting one. The story focused on that; I did not notice that the OP was more concerned with the State Dept. as a whole.