WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says no Americans should be targeted because of their race or religion.
Hosting an iftar dinner, where Muslims break their daytime fast during Ramadan, the president said Americans came together when three young Muslims were killed in North Carolina, and are united again following the murders of nine people at a black church in South Carolina last week.
Honored guests at the White House event included Samantha Elauf, who wasn't hired when she wore her Muslim veil to a job interview in Oklahoma. Her case prompted a recent Supreme Court ruling requiring employers to make religious accommodations.
Also seated at the president's table was Wai Wai Nu, an advocate for Myanmar's persecuted Muslim minority, and Munira Khalif, a 17-year-old Muslim girl from Minnesota who has been accepted to all eight Ivy League schools.
Monday evening's White House iftar continued a tradition that began under President Bill Clinton and was continued by President George W. Bush.