US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden hosted a reception to celebrate Eid Al Fitr on Monday afternoon in the East Room of the White House.
Ms Biden opened the ceremony by quoting the poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran, saying: “Your joy is sorrow unmasked. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”
“It is tempting to want to live in nothing but moments of happiness, but every year the holy celebration of Ramadan teaches that want inspires us to be generous and kind, that weakness can strengthen our convictions, that hunger makes each meal taste sweeter and reminds us that it's our families, our friends at our faith that truly feeds our souls,” she said.
Guests included Talib Shareef, president and imam of Masjid Muhammad, the Nation's Mosque, in Washington; Pakistani vocalist and composer Arooj Aftab; Muslim-American congressman Andre Carson; and Madinah Wilson-Anton, state representative of Delaware and manager of academic affairs at the Biden Institute.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who tested positive for coronavirus last week, was absent, though she had been scheduled to attend with first gentleman Doug Emhoff, who attended the event alone.
Mr Shareef opened with an invocation and then thanked the president for hosting the event.
“Being hosted here is an important statement for our nation and for the world, a statement that Islam is a welcomed part of our nation, as are all the other faith traditions, and that the highest office in this land is committed to our nation's foundational values — and laws protecting religious freedom,” he said.
Former president Bill Clinton started the White House tradition of celebrating Eid, though this ended during Donald Trump’s administration.
“Eid Mubarak! Welcome to the White House,” said Mr Biden during the event. “One of the promises that I made when I was running for office was restoring this celebration.”
The packed and masked house held up mobile phones to document the celebration and in many instances showed their appreciation through applause and laughter.
Mr Biden jokingly compared fasting during Ramadan to his Catholic faith and observation of Lent, during which he had to “go 40 days” with “no sweets and no ice cream”.
“Through their fast, Muslims demonstrate empathy for the suffering of others, strengthening and renewing their resolve to give generously and make the world a better place,” said Mr Biden.
“Muslims make our nation stronger every single day, even as they still face real challenges and threats in our society, including targeted violence and Islamophobia that exist — I mean, it's just astounding.”
In addition to restoring the Eid White House tradition, Mr Biden has also been working to follow through on his campaign promise of building an administration that values diversity and “looks like America”, nominating two Muslim Americans to the federal bench.
The specs: 2019 Audi A7 Sportback
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 335hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy 5.9L / 100km
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Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
SEMI-FINAL
Monterrey 1
Funes Mori (14)
Liverpool 2
Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
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Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
