The American president had previously visited mosques overseas, but had not done so at home during his seven years in office, highlighting the political importance of this visit. “Think of your own church or synagogue or temple, and a mosque like this will be very familiar”, said Obama, who, following Islamic custom, took off his shoes to enter the hall.
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In this year’s campaign, Donald Trump has called for banning Muslims from the USA temporarily and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio warned of “radical Islamic terrorism”. Mr Obama said that Islam had always been a part of America and numerous slaves brought here were Muslim and kept their faith alive. “We must not give them legitimacy”, Obama said.
President Obama’s visit to a USA mosque Tuesday was welcomed by Minnesota’s Muslim community, but many considered the gesture “late”. “Thank you for serving your community and for helping us keep united as one American family”.
Obama is making his first visit to a USA mosque at a time Muslim-Americans say they’re confronting increasing levels of bias in speech and deeds. “That’s not who we are”.
“Let me say as clearly as I can as president of the United States: you fit right here”, Obama said.
It was clear that Obama was speaking not just to the audience gathered at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, but also more broadly to an American public unfamiliar with the tenets of Islam.
In a separate interview with Al Jazeera, Robert McCaw, a CAIR spokesperson, said that in 2015, the Muslim community saw “unprecedented number of attacks” on individuals and houses of worship. A man and a woman recited a verse from the Koran about tolerance and inclusion.
Obama implored Americans of all faiths to play an active role in defending religious freedom and not be “bystanders to bigotry”.
“We never thought that when we held our first prayers in the small room almost a half a century ago that we would be hosting the president”, said Muhammad Jameel, the mosque’s president.
According to the Pew Research Center, Islam is the fastest growing religion.
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“It does upset me a little bit that it is his first time coming to visit a mosque, and there will be kids there who have grown up in this post 9/11 era and their faith is constantly linked to national security and extremism”. “I don’t know, maybe he feels comfortable there”, Trump told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren.
