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Islamic Supreme Council of America

ISCA Alert

For Immediate Release

ISCA Celebrates Eid ul-Fitr with President Clinton
Event marks new steps toward Middle East peace

(WASHINGTON, DC – 01/11/00)  – The Islamic Supreme Council of America was privileged to attend the White House Eid al-Fitr event, hosted by President Bill Clinton yesterday afternoon, along with approximately 70 members of the national Muslim community. ISCA Chairman Shaykh Hisham Kabbani and a small delegation represented the council at this commemoration of the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting.

Shaykh Kabbani personally received congratulations for the Eid from the President and from White House National Security Advisor Sandy Berger. Other officials present included Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh and Dr. Islam Siddiqui, senior advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture whom the president noted is “the highest ranking Muslim in the Clinton administration.”

After quoting the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible, the president cited from the Quran, saying,  “It's quite wonderful to say that Allah created the nations and tribes that they might know one another better, recognizing people have to organize their thoughts and categorize their ideas, but that does not mean we should be divided one from another.” The council sees this recognition of Islam as symbolic of America’s successful capacity to integrate peoples, cultures and religions under the protective envelope of freedoms of religion and speech, something seen nowhere else in the world.

The president briefly turned his attention to the negotiations recently concluded between Syria and Israel, in which he himself played a strong role as a full partner and peace broker. He noted, “It has been a great blessing for me, being involved in these talks these last few days, to see the impact of the month of Ramadan and the Eid on the believers in the Syrian delegation who are here.” Turning to the peace process itself, Mr. Clinton remarked, “The Quran also teaches, in addition, to the fact that we should do unto others as we wish to have done to us, and reject for others what we would reject for ourselves, but we should also make a commitment to live in peace.” Calling on the support of American Muslims, the president said, “I ask especially for your prayers for the current mission of peace in the Middle East.”

The president requested that ISCA encourage its members and all Muslims to pray for the success of the current peace process with US support. It is the council’s hope that an agreement will soon be reached through which: 1) Israeli troops will withdraw from the Golan Heights and allow this land to be returned to Syrian control; 2) Palestinians will gain a land of their own; 3) there will be a withdrawal from Lebanon; and 4) there will be a strong and lasting peace among neighbors.

ISCA once again calls on the U.S. government to press for an end to sanctions that have resulted in many innocent victims in Iraq.

We ask the administration to diligently pursue negotiations that will bring about peace in Chechnya and end the conflict quickly as occurred in Kosova and East Timor, and to facilitate the delivery of as much humanitarian aid as possible to the suffering refugees.

For more information about ISCA activities, please visit our Web site at http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org.