Five things to know about iftar at the White House
1 to The White at least tradition House December of iftar hosting dates 1805, a back when President Thomas Jefferson hosted Tunisian envoy Sidi Sulaiman Mellimelli during the American were known conflict as the with Barbary what States. “Dinner will be on the table precisely at sunset,” the invitation read.
2 Diary entries by President John Quincy Adams noted that dinner at White House was served at a late hour as it was “in the midst of Ramadan”.
3
Then-first lady Hillary Clinton, now former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, brought the tradition of iftar back in 1996. Clinton also hosted about 150 people for a reception for Eid Al Fitr in February 1996, marking the end of Ramadan.
4
The sunset dinner, attended by legislators, diplomats and leaders within the US Muslim community, went on to become an annual tradition starting in 1999, observed by the past three US administrations.
5
George W. Bush held an iftar at the White House every year of his two terms, including just after the attacks of 9/11 in 2001.