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Prayer time (Photo: Yacouba Soro/US Embassy)

U. S. Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire Wanda L. Nesbitt Hosts Traditional Iftar Dinner

U.S. Ambassador to the Cote d’Ivoire, Wanda L. Nesbitt, hosted a well-received Iftar dinner at her residence on Thursday, September 3, 2009.  The dinner was attended by 36 key Embassy contacts from the Islamic and educational communities as well as by members of civil society and 15 Mission members.   The guests, including 18 Imams, were welcomed by Ambassador Nesbitt and newly arrived DCM Julia Stanley.  El Hadj Mamadou Traore, the senior Imam present, led a group prayer marking the end of the day’s fasting, after which a traditional Iftar dinner featuring local foods was served.

In her welcoming remarks, Ambassador Nesbitt noted that the objective of the Iftar dinner, a longstanding Embassy tradition, was not only to express American respect for religious freedom, but to recognize the rapidly expanding American Muslim community.  The Ambassador expressed the hope that “we should all turn towards the future, think about what we should do for our children so that they can live a better and easier life.”
2006 International Visitor (IV) El Hadj Ibrahim Kone served as moderator.  Eleven other former IV also participated. El Hadj Diebroulaye Cisse, representing the leader of Cote d’Ivoire’s Islamic community, closed the evening by expressing the group’s sincere appreciation to the Ambassador for the dinner and for the Embassy’s continuing and dedicated attention to the Muslim community in Cote d’Ivoire.

The event promoted Mission goals by promoting respect for diversity, religious tolerance and mutual understanding.