WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a week and a half late, but Secretary of State John Kerry has hosted a celebration of Islam’s Eid al-Adha (eed al-AHD’-hah) holiday at the State Department.
Kerry appeared to be speaking without a script as he noted that the Muslim holiday commemorates the patriarch Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son at God’s command. The Bible and the Quran both describe it as a test of faith. Kerry said Abraham was doing it “to provide for people, and to prove something.”
Kerry reiterated the administration’s insistence that the Islamic State group is not Islamic, and said its violence has the potential to unite Sunni and Shia Muslims.
He told the assembled Muslim dignitaries, “I think that it is more critical than ever that we be fighting for peace.”
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