Muslim-American leaders say they have been hoping he would follow up with a visit to an American mosque for some time, as an increased level of anti-Muslim sentiment – including protests outside mosques around the country past year – has followed the uptick in terrorist violence by the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
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He specifically addressed the fear-mongering we have seen from Republican presidential candidates, noting that we have unfortunately heard “inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim-Americans” from these ostensible leaders.
In December, the White House held a meeting with prominent Muslim and Sikh Americans over tensions in their communities, and leaders then suggested that Obama visit a mosque to speak out against Islamophobia.
In letters and in direct talks with Obama, Muslim Americans shared deep-felt beliefs that they are being treated like second-class citizens. “Perhaps this will start a trend”, said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“We in this community have become very vigilant about the fact that we want to be sure that nobody in our community who’s frequent to Mosque gets into that radical kind of thinking”, said Shaikh.
Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane, reporting from Baltimore, said Obama’s critics in the Muslim community have called the visit as “too little, too late”.
Muslim Americans were once again viewed as suspicious following the horrific attacks in Paris that killed 130 and the shooting in San Bernardino by a Muslim couple that killed 14 and injured 22. But Trump has continued to attract controversy on questions surrounding Obama and his background.
The President referring to GOP Candidate Donald Trump’s call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country. They have “in our country no place”. “It sets American Muslims apart from their neighbors and singles them out for monitoring based on faith, race and ethnicity”. Before he spoke, Cub Scouts who attend a school run by the mosque carried the American and Maryland state flags into the prayer hall, a plain room save for a three rows of window panes, 99 in all, each depicting one of the names of Allah in Arabic. “It can’t be just a burden on the Muslim community, although the Muslim community has to play a role”. “I am in good company”.
During his visit, Mr Obama met Ibtihaj Muhammad, a fencer who has qualified for a spot on the USA team for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.
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In his speech, Obama cited a long history of Islam in America, and demanded more positive depictions of Muslims in American media. Although Obama has visited mosques overseas, he waited until his final year in office to make such a visit at home, reflecting the issue’s sensitive political implications. A CNN/ORC poll in September found that 29 percent of Americans said they believed Obama was a Muslim, including 43 percent of Republicans. You’re not Muslim or American.
