President Barack Obama paid his first visit to a us mosque on Wednesday, appealing for tolerance for America’s millions of Muslims and calling to confront the bias and stereotyping that he says is on the rise amid tough talk on terrorism in the presidential campaign. In remarks at the embassy, he warned of growing anti-Semitism in the world.
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The choice of the mosque in Baltimore raised controversy because it has indirect ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, Fox News reported.
Honored at the ceremony were Army Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, who stated that “We are all Jews here” when a Nazi commander asked the Jews to identify themselves at the German camp where Edmonds was a prisoner.
He said too often Americans link the Muslim religion Islam with terrorism and blame the entire Muslim community for the “violent acts of a few”.
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.
He also noted that the mosque he visited was twice attacked, while Muslim children were bullied, and mosques were vandalised across America. In the presidential race, Republican candidate Donald Trump wants to temporarily ban Muslims from the U.S. Without naming Trump, the president said to his Muslim audience: “You’re right where you belong”.
Though Obama has visited mosques overseas, he waited until his final year in office to make such a visit at home.
Obama, who is a Christian, mocked Trump at the 2011 White House Correspondent’s Dinner, saying that Trump probably thinks the USA government also faked the moon landing and rattled off other conspiracy theories.
In June 2009, just five months into his presidency, Obama toured the Sultan Hassan mosque during a visit to Cairo.
Much of Obama’s foreign policy agenda has focused on improving ties with Muslim nations, from making a nuclear deal with Iran to improving ties with Indonesia and ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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. It’s about being a leader for the people of all religions.
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President Obama visiting a USA mosque is undoubtedly drawing criticism as well. A recent poll found that 29% of Americans question whether Obama is in fact a Christian while another 13% said they doubt he was born in the United States.
