Source: The Boston Globe

On December 18, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "President Bush celebrated Eid al-Fitr yesterday, inviting Muslim children to the White House for holiday cookies and a poem... Bush noted that Eid, the three-day Muslim festival that... marks the end of the Ramadan holy month, coincides this year with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah and the Christian season of Advent. 'So it's a good time for people of these great faiths - Islam, Judaism, and Christianity - to remember how much we have in common,' he said... Until he declared war against Islamic extremist terrorists, Bush did not go out of his way to reach out to Muslims. For much of this year, in fact, the president had strained relations with Muslim activists who had given him strong support in last year's election but were offended when they could not secure a meeting with him."