During his speech at the Baltimore mosque, President Barack Obama noted that there is “no place” for Islamophobia in our country and decried the “inexcusable” political rhetoric regarding terrorism and the Muslim community.
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Pew found in a December 2015 survey that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say they are “very concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism” in the world, 83 percent to 53 percent, and in the USA, 65 percent to 38 percent.
Shaikh said when there is an incident in America that authorities call an act of terrorism, he, like many others, cross their fingers hoping the perpetrators aren’t Muslim.
His visit took place during an election campaign in which Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a temporary ban on new Muslim immigrants.
In July, Trump said he was still not convinced Obama was born in the United States.
The move comes as Muslim-Americans say they’re confronting increasing levels of bias and harassment. There were those who supported his gesture of solidarity and support towards the Muslim community, but the Internet is not without its trolls.
Obama’s visit was aimed at showing Americans another side of Islam. The president spoke at the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque.
But Ben Carson, another Republican presidential candidate, said a Muslim should not be permitted to serve as president.
Hate crimes against American Muslims have tripled since the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, including incidents where vandals have thrown bacon and even a severed pig’s head at mosques. “You are Muslim and American”.
Before his address, Obama met with several Muslim community leaders, including Imam Yaseen Shaikh, a resident scholar at the society, and Ibtihaj Muhammad, a member of the United States fencing team and the first Muslim woman to represent the country in worldwide fencing, according to the White House.
Responding to some claims that a former imam at the mosque had ties to extremist groups, Earnest said he is not surprised that political opponents stepped forward to protest the visit.
Attendees at the Baltimore mosque are predominantly of Turkish heritage, although immigrants of other nationalities also participate, said Akbar Ahmed, an Islamic studies specialist at American University who has researched mosques around the U.S.
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“He gave a speech at a mosque… basically implying that America is discriminating against Muslims”.
