Biden White House cancels Ramadan event after too many Muslim leaders reject invitation because of war in Gaza: Report

The Biden administration was forced to cancel an annual Ramadan celebration after too many Muslim leaders rejected the invitation to attend because of the continuing war in Gaza, reports say.

This week, the White House had intended to host an iftar, an evening meal held during Ramadan that breaks the daily fast from sunrise to sunset, providing the president an opportunity to meet with members of the Muslim community and discuss issues that impact them. The event has been so popular during the Biden administration that last year, one of the attendees spontaneously shouted, "We love you!" before Biden even began his remarks, the AP reported.

However, this year, that iftar had to be pared back and then ultimately canceled in favor of a private celebration for members of the administration on Tuesday evening. To explain the dramatic change, many have pointed to Biden's support for Israel following the October 7 attacks as hostilities in the region continue.

"It’s inappropriate to do such a celebration while there’s a famine going on in Gaza," said Wa’el Alzayat, a leader of the Muslim advocacy group Emgage who attended the iftar at the White House last year.

"We’re just in a different world. It’s completely surreal, and it’s sad," Alzayat continued.

"The American Muslim community said very early on that it would be completely unacceptable for us to break bread with the very same White House that is enabling the Israeli government to starve and slaughter the Palestinian people in Gaza," added Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Despite the iftar debacle, the White House did hold a separate business meeting with some Muslim leaders. However, that meeting also revealed simmering tensions between Muslims and the administration as well. An emergency medicine doctor from Chicago even walked out of the meeting because he was "the only Palestinian" in attendance. "Out of respect for my community, I’m going to leave," he said.

Neither the private iftar nor the meeting with Muslim leaders appeared on the president's public schedule, and members of the press were not permitted to "capture" either event, a break from previous custom, the AP said.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed Biden hosted the meeting because "community leaders expressed the preference" for a "working group meeting" where he could "get feedback from them." As to the canceled iftar, Jean-Pierre stated, "The president is going to continue his tradition of honoring the Muslim community during Ramadan."

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