President Barack H. Obama Addresses the National Prayer Breakfast

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President Obama speaks at National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D C

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Today, February 5, 2009, President Barack Obama addressed the National Prayer Breakfast, an event that occurs annually on the first Thursday in the month of February, with every sitting United States' president since President Dwight D. Eisenhower attending and offering remarks. 

An excerpt from President Obama's scheduled remarks:

But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate.  There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being.  This much we know.   

We know too that whatever our differences, there is one law that binds all great religions together.  Jesus told us to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” The Torah commands, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.”  In Islam, there is a hadith that reads “None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”  And the same is true for Buddhists and Hindus; for followers of Confucius and for humanists.  It is, of course, the Golden Rule – the call to love one another; to understand one another; to treat with dignity and respect those with whom we share a brief moment on this Earth.

Video of President Obama's remarks can be found here.