President Barack Obama said called on Americans to recommit to protecting Muslim Americans against bigotry and xenophobia. | Getty Obama rips 'bigotry' and 'xenophobia' with Ramadan message

President Barack Obama sent a message to Donald Trump on Wednesday in a statement marking the end of Ramadan, calling on Americans to renew their commitment to protecting Muslim Americans against bigotry and xenophobia.

“Muslim Americans have been part of our American family since its founding,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House on the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr. “This Eid, we recommit to protecting Muslim Americans against bigotry and xenophobia, while celebrating the contributions of Muslim Americans around the country, including one of our finest, the People’s Champion Muhammad Ali, to whom we bade farewell this Ramadan.”


Eid celebrations remind the country that it was built by people of all backgrounds, said Obama, who praised Muslim Americans for making America stronger before acknowledging a series of recent attacks around the world “that broke our hearts and tried our souls.”

“Our prayers are with the hundreds of innocent lives, many of them Muslim, taken during the month of Ramadan in places like Orlando, Istanbul, Dhaka, Baghdad, and Medina,” he said. “Here at home, we’ve also seen a rise in attacks against Muslim Americans. No one should ever feel afraid or unsafe in their place of worship.”

“In the face of hate,” he added, “it’s our American values and strength that bring us together to stand in solidarity and protect one another—thereby, making our Nation stronger and safer.”

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, in December proposed temporarily banning Muslims from entering the country. He seemed to expand his proposal last month in the wake of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, when he vowed to “suspend immigration from areas of the world when there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies until we understand how to end these threats.”

At the start of Ramadan, Obama stood in solidarity with Muslim Americans “in rejection of the voices that seek to divide us or limit our religious freedoms or civil rights,” he said in a statement last month.

Americans, Obama said then, must continue to work with Muslim Americans and not forget the millions who have been displaced — in and outside the U.S.

“Far too many Muslims may not be able to observe Ramadan from the comfort of their own homes this year or afford to celebrate Eid with their children,” he said. “We must continue working together to alleviate the suffering of these individuals. This sacred time reminds us of our common obligations to uphold the dignity of every human being. We will continue to welcome immigrants and refugees into our nation, including those who are Muslim.”