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President Obama meets with members of Muslim-American community at the Islamic Society of Baltimore Wednesday. Obama is making his first visit to a U.S. mosque at a time Muslim-Americans say they're confronting increasing levels of bias in speech and deeds.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)
In his first visit to an American mosque Wednesday, President Obama condemned "inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim Americans that has no place in our country."
Speaking to Muslim Americans at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama called for unity among American faith communities, recognized the contributions of Muslim citizens,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and asked for Muslims around the world to help combat the extremist ideologies of groups like the Islamic State.
"The first thing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>I want to say is two words that Muslim Americans don’t hear often enough," Obama said. "Thank you."
He decried the surge of threats and intimidation of American Muslim communities following the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif. last year.
"We’ve seen children bullied, we’ve seen mosques vandalized," he said. "It’s not who we are. We're one American family. And when any part of out family<span style="color: Red;">*</span>begins to feel separate or second class, it tears at the heart of our nation."
Obama's remarks<span style="color: Red;">*</span>continued a not-so-veiled White House campaign to rebuff the campaign rhetoric of Donald Trump, whose second-place showing in the GOP presidential nomination is fueled largely by promises to conduct surveillance on mosques and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ban Muslims from entering the United States.
The speech to a Muslim audience comes amid an eight-day stretch during which he will have spoken to Jewish, Muslim and Christian audiences.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Last week,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he spoke about the Holocaust<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at the Israeli embassy in Washington, proclaiming, "I, too, am a Jew" in a sign of Christian solidarity with the Jewish people. Thursday, he'll speak at the National Prayer Breakfast, a largely Christian annual gathering in Washington.
In Baltimore, Obama alluded to his own Christian faith — and also acknowledged that many Americans believe he's actually a Muslim.
"Thomas Jefferson's opponents tried to stir<span style="color: Red;">*</span>things up by suggesting he was a Muslim. So I was not the first," Obama said, sparking laughter. "No, it's true. Look it up. I'm in good company."
Obama had a closed-door roundtable with 12 Muslim-American leaders Wednesday morning. They included students,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>activists, Quran scholars and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>doctors.
The Islamic Society of Baltimore, a 46-year-old mosque and Quran school in suburban Catonsville, said the president's visit "occurs amidst increased bigoted rhetoric and violence against Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Americans."
President Obama speaks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Feb. 3, 2016.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images)
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