Obama greets Muslims on Eid

US President Barack Obama has greeted Muslims around the world on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

In a greetings message on Thursday, Obama and his wife Michelle Obama sent their ‘warmest greetings to Muslims celebrating Eid-al-Fitr in the United States and around the world’.

The message said, “During the past month, Muslims have honoured their faith through prayer and service, fasting and time spent with loved ones. At this year’s White House iftar, I was proud to spend time with some of the many American Muslims whose contributions enrich our democracy and strengthen our economy.”

“Many of us have had the opportunity to break fast with our Muslim friends and colleagues – a tradition that reminds us to be grateful for our blessings and to show compassion to the less fortunate among us, including millions of Syrians who spent Ramadan displaced from their homes, their families and their loved ones.”

Obama in the message said the United States was providing an additional $195 million in food and other humanitarian aid to help the many Syrians in need this Eid-al-Fitr, bringing the US’ humanitarian contribution to the Syrian people to over $1 billion since the crisis began.

He ended his message saying, “For millions of Americans, Eid is part of a great tapestry of America’s many traditions, and I wish all Muslims a blessed and joyful celebration. Eid Mubarak.”

Barack Hussein Obama, born on Aug 4, 1961, is the first African American to have become the President of the United States, currently the 44th. He was re-elected as the President for a second term in the White House on Nov 7 last year.

His mother Stanley Ann Dunham of Wichita, Kansas and his Muslim father Barack Obama Senior of Yanza province, Kenya, were married in 1961. But they divorced in 1964 after Obama was born.

Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from Jan 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.