President Barack Obama’s first visit to a United States mosque contradicted the “toxic political rhetoric being aimed at American Muslims”, Robert McCaw, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told Radio Sputnik’s Brian Becker.
Advertisement
“Attack on one faith is attack on all faiths and recently certain statement directly targeted the Muslim community residing in United States”, Obama went on to say.
Obama said that some American Muslim children fear they will be “rounded up”, while others “feel like second-class citizens”, the president said. “It’s not who we are”.
While at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, the President highlighted the long-standing history of Muslims in America and criticized Republican presidential candidates for their anti-Muslim bigotry.
“It’s certainly true that we have seen an alarming willingness on the part of some Republicans to try to marginalize law-abiding, patriotic, Muslim-Americans”, he said.
Fellow Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has also advocated Christian-only admissions and supported “Judeo-Christian values”.
Muslim-American advocacy groups have warned of a growing number of attacks on mosques and on individuals following attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, by those purporting to act in the name of Islam.
On Wednesday, Obama said: “An attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths”.
Obama reminded the audience that political opponents of Thomas Jefferson accused him of being a Muslim.
President Barack Obama is under fire for his decision to visit a controversial mosque in Baltimore today.
Obama’s visit to the Baltimore mosque was apparently in reaction to Trump, who has pledged to bar Muslims from entering the USA if elected president.
He reminded the Americans that most of the victims of the terrorist groups are Muslims themselves. “We’ve got to make sure that hate crimes are punished and that the civil rights all of Americans are upheld”.
He decried the “hugely distorted impression” of Muslims given in the media – both in film and television portrayals, and in the news after acts of terror. Obama took to the mosque to call out rhetoric that he says has “no place in our country”, as anti-Muslim rhetoric is “inexcusable”, according to the POTUS.
Advertisement
Before addressing the congregation, Mr Obama had a closed-door meeting with Muslim community leaders.
