Written by Don Byrd
At the annual White House Iftar dinner last night celebrating Ramadan, President Obama honored several Muslim Americans for their community-building enterprises. He began by remarking on the American principle that allows each of us the same rights to peacefully serve others, regardless of our faith: religious freedom.
Tonight we reaffirm a simple truth. Fundamental to the character of our country is our freedom of religion — the right to practice our faith as we choose, to change our faith if we choose, or to practice no faith at all and to do all this free from fear of. All of us are deserving of an equal opportunity to thrive — no matter who we are, what we look like, what we believe, or how we pray. And all of us have an obligation to do our part — to help others overcome barriers, to reverse the injustice of inequality and to help more of our fellow citizens share in the promise of America.
Robust religious freedom is central to our democracy, and to the fabric that holds our nation together across communities. It is, indeed, a simple truth. It is not, however, simple to achieve or maintain.
