Donald Trump breaks with 20-year tradition and abandons Ramadan dinner at the White House

Donald Trump has broken with a two-decade old tradition of hosting an iftar meal at the White House during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. 

The modern tradition was started by First Lady Hillary Clinton, who hosted a meal on Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, in 1996. Both Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama hosted annual iftar - the sunset meal that breaks the daily fast during the holy month - in their time in office. 

The first, informal, White House iftar is said to have taken place in 1805, when Thomas Jefferson hosted the Tunisian envoy to the US and announced in invitations that "dinner will be on the table precisely at sun-set". 

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reportedly rejected a request by his department's office of religion and global affairs to hold an event for the holiday.

“It is disappointing because that’s been a good tradition,” Imam Talib Shareef of the Nation’s Mosque in Washington, DC, told the magazine Newsweek of Mr Trump's decision. "To stop it doesn’t send a good message. You get the chance to go golfing and all this other kind of stuff. How come you don’t have time for a population of your society that needs some assistance? The message that it sends is that we’re not that important.”

The president released a short statement over the weekend, sending "warm greetings" to Muslims celebrating the end of Ramadan.

"On behalf of the American people, Melania and I send our warm greetings to Muslims as they celebrate Eid al-Fitr," Mr Trump said in a statement. "During this holiday, we are reminded of the importance of mercy, compassion, and goodwill."

"With Muslims around the world, the United States renews our commitment to honor these values."

Mr Trump suggested he would be open to continuing the Ramadan tradition while on the campaign trail last year, telling a reporter: “It wouldn’t bother me. It wouldn’t bother me. It’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought to but it wouldn’t bother me.”

Mr Trump has come under fire for his history of anti-Muslim rhetoric on the campaign trail, that included calls for surveillance of US mosques and an outright ban on Muslims entering the country in the name of national security.

Yet during a visit to Saudi Arabia last month, Mr Trump softened his tone on Islam, rejecting the idea of a battle between religions in an address before dozens of leaders of Muslim countries.