Colin Powell: In our diversity, lies our strength

From an after-dinner speech given by the US Secretary of State to Muslim guests at the State Department, in Washington

From muslims here tonight and from Muslims throughout the world that I have been privileged to meet, I have learnt to respect Ramadan as an intensely spiritual time, a month of worship, a month of contemplation and self-renewal for Muslims everywhere.

We are blessed to live in a nation that offers each of us the freedom to live our lives, raise our children and worship God as we see fit, under the protection of our law. America is a nation where a Christian Secretary of State, the son of Jamaican immigrants, can host an iftar [breaking of the Ramadan fast] for Muslim Americans who trace their ancestry back to South Asia, East Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and every corner of the globe.

In our diversity and our spirituality, our tolerance and our commitment to human dignity, lies our strength and our hope for a better future. Extremism and violence are our greatest foes. We must not listen to the siren song of the extremists and bigots who cloak themselves in false spirituality in an attempt to divide and to weaken us.

We are also committed to building understanding by building hope. From the mountains of Afghanistan to the valleys of Bosnia, from the plains of Africa to the forests of Asia, in the Arab world and around the world, we are on the ground, working with our Muslim partners to expand the circle of peace, the circle of prosperity, the circle of freedom.

It is said that God listens to the supplication of the fasting person and answers that supplication. So tonight I wish you wisdom in your supplications, I wish you peace, and I wish you prosperity throughout the coming year.