Protesters rally outside White House as President Trump’s guest list at Iftar event irks American Muslims

United States President Donald Trump - File Photo

US President Donald Trump hosted an Iftar dinner at the White House, where he acknowledged the significance of Ramadan and expressed gratitude to Muslim community for their support in the 2024 election.

“I want to extend a very special thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Muslim-Americans who supported us in record numbers in the 2024 presidential election. It was incredible. We started a little slow with you, but we came along. The Muslim community was there for us in November, and while I'm president, I will be there for you,” he said at the event.

Pres. Trump hosted his second annual iftar dinner on Monday night at the White House. The dinner, which breaks the daily fast of Ramadan for Muslims around the world, was attended by various Muslim diplomatic leaders. https://t.co/xXdycS4QiV pic.twitter.com/ZT3vZiAP2C
ABC News (@ABC) May 14, 2019

However, reports suggest that the list of invitees for the Iftar dinner did not go down well with several American Muslims, who staged protest outside the White House, alleging that this time, American Muslim lawmakers and leaders associated with the community were not invited. Instead, foreign delegates of Muslim countries for the Iftar dinner at the White House.

Several Muslim civil rights groups held a ‘Not Trump's Iftar’ protest outside the White House. They protested the administration's policies perceived as discriminatory towards Muslims. Chanting slogans and displaying signs, the protesters voiced their concerns over efforts to ban immigrants from several Muslim-majority countries and other related issues.

As an act of protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric, scores of Muslims rallied outside the White House as the President hosted foreign Muslim dignitaries for an Iftar dinner. pic.twitter.com/cOrwKNtc7p ANews (@anews) June 7, 2018

The tradition of hosting an Iftar dinner at the White House dates back to President Bill Clinton's administration and was continued by subsequent presidents. However, President Trump did not host the event in 2017, leading to criticism from some Muslim groups. In 2018, while the White House hosted an Iftar dinner, several major American Muslim organizations were notably absent, choosing instead to hold a "Not Trump's Iftar" event in Lafayette Square, directly across from the White House.