Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at Eid Al-Fitr Prayer

July 6, 2016

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you. Please, sit down, everyone. Thank you so much. Thank you [inaudible]. Assalamu’alaikum, everyone.

[Applause]

It is an honor – it is an honor to be with you. And, my wife, Chirlane, and I look forward to being with you at this special occasion, celebrating the end of this holy month. It’s a time for contemplation and joy. So, we join with you to mark this day, Eid al-Fitr, and it is our honor to be looking out over so many wonderful people in this beautiful setting. 

It’s a time of joy, as I said. We also are saddened in these last weeks by senseless acts of violence around the world, even in the holy city of Medina. And here, in New York City, we stand strong and united in peace together. We stand as a beacon to the world – that all people, all faiths together can live in harmony, and today is a great example of that. 

We believe in tolerance and respect for all. And even though we’ve gone through adversity in this city, even though we ourselves have experienced terror, we have come back in a spirit of unity, and that makes us strong. And I want you to know that we believe in this city that diversity is our strength – all faiths, all peoples make us stronger – we believe that is part of the magic of New York City. We do not tolerate any hatred toward any community, we do not tolerate the scapegoating of any community, and we will stand up against bias. 

[Applause]

So, I want you to know, we stand with all of you, with all our Muslim brothers and sisters, in unity. We have taken the steps to make this one city. We ended the Muslim surveillance program that troubled so many people. We have ensured that City Hall is open, and inviting, and welcoming to all people from the community. And we are so blessed to have our senior advisor, Sarah Sayeed, who helps to provide leadership at City Hall. 

[Applause]

We have welcomed Muslim leaders to our Clergy Advisory Committee. We have made the two Eid holidays as official school holidays for our public schools.

[Applause]

And we celebrate every day the Muslims who do so much to help us all and to make this city better, including the 900 members of the Muslim Society of the NYPD who protect us all. We say thank you to them.

[Applause]

To conclude, I wish you all and all of your families a joyous day.

Eid Mubarak!

[Applause]

Assalamu’alaikum.