WASHINGTON — Two women from the Twin Cities area are among guests that were invited to dine with President Barack Obama at an annual White House dinner held in honor of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan.

Obama welcomed guests to the White House on Monday for a traditional iftar dinner, which follows daily fasting from dawn to sunset. Munira Khalif of Fridley and Kadra Mohamad of St. Paul had been invited to sit at the president’s table.

Khalif was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools and finished high school this year. Mohamad was St. Paul’s first female Somali-American police officer.

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minneapolis was also set to attend the dinner. He was the first Muslim elected to Congress.