Iftar.(The Talk of the Town)

President Ahmadinejad, when he comes to New York, usually holds meetings over breakfast. But his visit last week occurred in the middle of Ramadan, so he hosted a nightly iftar--the meal that breaks the fast each evening at sundown.

Several hundred Iranians living in New York received cryptic invitations--in Farsi, with a Yahoo e-mail R.S.V.P. address. Just after sunset two Sundays ago, at the Hilton hotel in midtown, women in hijabs and, in some cases, black chadors, accompanied by hirsute men, lined up at the escalators. "My friends told me not to come," one young woman whispered. "But Ramadan is important to my dad, so I'm here." A man said, "It's a busy week in New York; there's another iftar, with Maliki"--Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister.

A uniformed Secret Service officer walked by, leading a German shepherd, which tried to sniff two women in hijabs. "Dog!" one of them cried. The officer pulled the dog away without an apology, probably unaware that the animal was najess, or unclean. The line inched forward. "When are we going to eat?" a woman whined.

In the ballroom, people took seats at round tables set with pitchers of hot tea and plates of dates and cheese. Harried waiters delivered halal rice and kebabs. The diminutive President arrived and was ushered to a table near the stage. "Please," an announcer said. "All rise for our national anthem." The guests stood up, some with spoons still in their hands, as the music began. It was abruptly cut off. "I'm sorry about that," the announcer said, referring to the faux pas of putting country before God. "We're going to listen to a recitation from the Koran first."

Before long, a crowd had massed around the President's table. "Ladies and gentlemen, please," the announcer said. "The President deserves to eat his dinner, too." Ahmadinejad, smiling, looked up at him and mouthed some words.

"Well," the announcer continued, somewhat peevishly, "the President graciously says it's O.K."

Eventually, Ahmadinejad finished his dinner and mounted the stage. "Congratulations on Ramadan!" he exclaimed to a standing ovation. ...