This file photo taken on Jan. 29 shows President Obama speaking about equal pay during an event to mark the 7th Anniversary of the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act..(Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — President Obama's election-year<span style="color: Red;">*</span>visit to a mosque in Baltimore Wednesday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— his first appearance<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at a Muslim place of worship in the United States<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— is an effort to open a dialogue with members of the American Muslim community away from the "divisive rhetoric on the campaign trail,"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the White House said.
And while Obama will discuss ways the government can work with Muslims to counter<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Islamic extremism at home and abroad, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that the president sees the contributions of Muslim Americans in a much broader context.
"I also don't want to leave you with the impression that the president’s remarks at the mosque are going to be focused on national security," he said. "I think the President is quite interested in making sure that we're affirming the important role that Muslims play in our diverse American society, and certainly affirming their right to worship God in a way that's consistent with their heritage.<span style="color: Red;">*</span> And they shouldn’t be subject to ridicule or targeting by anybody, let alone somebody who aspires to leading the country."
Those comments<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— and, likely, Obama's noontime speech at the Islamic Society of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Baltimore Wednesday, continue 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 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."
But the visit also comes at a time when Obama is reaching out to a number of faiths. Last week,
he spoke about the Holocaust 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.
"So I think this sort of fits in the constellation of events the president is doing to talk about religious liberty and to talk about the roll that faith plays in our public debate," Earnest said. "I think it will also be an opportunity for the President to talk about the role that faith plays even in his own life."
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