U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement about the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 1 in which he extended his “best wishes to all the Muslim communities in the United States and around the world.” He called the month “a time of renewal, introspection, service and generosity in the Muslim faith” and a “a time for communities to come together to celebrate Iftars in a spirit of kinship and peace.”
The 56-word statement ran some 75% shorter than his predecessor, Antony Blinken’s 231-word Ramadan statement on March 12, 2024, and unlike Blinken, Rubio did not mention the plight of Gazans.
“As the month of Ramadan begins, I wish Ramadan Kareem to the more than 1.8 billion Muslims around the world,” Blinken stated last year. “This year, this season of peace comes at a time of conflict and pain for many Muslim communities, including Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Rohingya in Burma and Bangladesh and Palestinians in Gaza.”
Former U.S. president Joe Biden mentioned the “terrible suffering” of Palestinians in his 491-word Ramadan statement in 2024. U.S. President Donald Trump’s 118-word Ramadan statement, which also ran about 75% shorter than his predecessor’s, on March 3 did not mention the Palestinians.
Blinken noted in 2024 that “this pain is felt acutely by Muslims around the world, and so this year, Ramadan feels different. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is heartbreaking.”
He added that Washington would “continue to work non-stop to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire for at least six weeks as part of a deal that releases hostages” and would “continue to pursue a two-state solution to ensure Palestinians and Israelis share equal measures of freedom, dignity, security and prosperity.”
On April 9, 2024, Blinken issued another statement—this one 176 words—marking Eid al-Fitr, and again he noted the pain of Gazans.
“As we near the end of the holy month of Ramadan, I wish Muslim communities everywhere Eid Mubarak and join in hopes for a safer and more peaceful world,” he stated at the time.
“As families and communities come together, we know they do so at a time when many Muslim communities worldwide are suffering,” he added. “Our thoughts turn to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, civilians in Syria, women suffering under the Taliban in Afghanistan, Uyghurs in the People’s Republic of China, Rohingya in Burma and Bangladesh and far too many others.”
David May, research manager and a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS that “the Trump administration has resumed its approach of not allowing the Palestinian issue to have a stranglehold over relations with the Arab and Muslim communities.”
“Ramadan is fundamentally a religious holiday, and the administration’s decision not to tarnish it with political messages should serve as a model for respecting religious communities,” he added. JNS
{Matzav.com}