“The first is to affirm the important role that Muslim-Americans play in our society and to affirm our conviction in the principle of religious liberty”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday.
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Obama’s visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore was seen as a a long-awaited gesture to a community that has warned of escalating vitriol against them in recent years. “It has no place in our country”, Obama said. Obama said this kind of rhetoric created an unsafe environment for some American Muslims.
Advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says it has tracked a growing number of attacks on mosques and Muslim individuals since the Paris attacks in November 2015 and a shooting in San Bernardino, California, in December.
“No surprise, then, that threats and harassment of Muslim Americans have surged”, he said.
“Our television shows should have some Muslim characters that are unrelated to national security”, said Obama, speaking of stereotypes adding that many Muslims police officers, soldiers and intelligence officials help keep all Americans safe.
“We’ve had mosques tapped, mosques infiltrated, we’ve had fake converts coming in”, he told Al Jazeera. “You’re right where you belong”.
In June 2009, just five months into his presidency, Obama toured the Sultan Hassan mosque during a visit to Cairo. He described the “common principles of justice and progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings” shared by Americans and Muslims.
He said that while the “overwhelming majority” of Muslims reject terror, it is “undeniable” that others use their “perverted” interpretation of the religion to justify acts of horrific violence.
“This is a moment when as Americans we have to truly listen to each other and learn from each other. As we protect our country from terrorism, we should not reinforce the ideas and the rhetoric of the terrorists themselves”.
Seven years into President Barack Obama’s presidency and he marked a first on Wednesday when he visited a mosque in the United States.
“I am not the first”, he said.
“I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation”, Carson said in a September 2015 interview on NBC’s Meet the Press.
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Ultimately, however, Obama said combating terrorism will require Americans of all faiths to work together.
