Speeches
Remarks by U.S. Ambassador Carol Rodley at Iftar Reception
Kampung Cham
September 10, 2009
Mr. Srey Kanoeun, Director, Provincial Department of Cults and Religious Affairs
Imam Mao Tib, Deputy Imam of Kampong Cham Province
Imams, Honored guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
Good evening, Ramadan Kareem. I am honored to be with you all tonight. Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for joining us on this beautiful evening to celebrate Ramadan and its spirit of faith and community. Tonight, we celebrate a great religion. I believe that our President’s Ramadan message was a wonderful way to start this event and I do not have much more to add to his remarks. I would, however, like to emphasize the point that he made about America’s commitment to engage Muslims on the basis of mutual interest and respect. You might wonder why staff from the U.S. Embassy would travel all the way to Kampong Cham to break bread with you. As you have heard, the President has encouraged us to start, and in some cases continue, the conversation that we are having with Muslim communities throughout the world. This conversation is why we are here tonight – we believe that in order to better understand the Cham community we need listen to your concerns. We know that the Cham are well integrated into Cambodian society, and that the Royal Government of Cambodia has made great strides in the past several years in terms of continuing this process of integration. We also know that we have much in common, but much more to learn from you. So with that I would like to thank you for taking the time to be here this evening. I look forward to talking, listening and learning from you throughout the evening, and I wish you all a very blessed Ramadan. Thank you. Ramadan Mubarak.
