EMBASSY ATHENS HOSTS RAMADAN IFTAR

UNCLAS ATHENS 001922 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR R; EUR FOR GRAFFY; EUR/PPD FOR ALTMAN-WINANS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL KISL KPAO OIIP GR SUBJECT: EMBASSY ATHENS HOSTS RAMADAN IFTAR REF: STATE 112013 ¶1. Charge hosted Embassy Athens?s annual Ramadan Iftar on September ¶19. Some 50 Arab and Muslim Ambassadors, Greek Orthodox church officials, Muslim community representatives, academics, selected journalists, and other post human rights contacts attended. Father Thomas Synodinos, the seniormost deputy to ailing Archbishop Christodoulos, now in Miami for a liver transplant, represented the Greek Orthodox church. ¶2. At sunset, guests paused to listen to the Muslim call to prayer, movingly chanted by Naim Elgadour, president of the Association of Muslims in Greece. During the meal, after brief opening remarks in Greek and Arabic, Charge spoke of the 50th anniversary of the Islamic Center in Washington, DC, noting that the White House, State Department, and U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide now host events to mark the Muslim holy month. He also noted that several Embassy Athens officers in attendance had previous service or family ties in the Arab and Muslim world. Egypt's Ambassador to Greece Hamdi Sanad Loza then rose spontaneously to give a short reply of thanks. ¶3. Embassy's Public Affairs Section co-produced this year's Iftar with the Political Section. Post IRC produced place cards for each guest using an image of the Islamic Center in Washington and text from USINFO.gov about its 50th anniversary, including the reference to the Greek Orthodox cathedral in the Embassy Row area. We also thank Embassy Riyadh PAO for her assistance with Charge's Arabic language opening remarks. ¶4. Consulate General Thessaloniki is planning another Iftar for early October, to include Greece's predominantly Turkish-origin Muslim community. COUNTRYMAN