President Barack Obama’s first visit to a U.S. mosque comes as Muslim-Americans say they’re confronting increasing levels of bias in speech and deeds.
Obama is scheduled to visit the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday. Its campus contains a mosque and school that runs from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Last week, Obama became the first sitting president to speak at the Israeli Embassy. In remarks at the embassy, he warned of growing anti-Semitism in the world.
Obama’s message in Baltimore will follow a similar tack. The White House said he will focus on the need to speak out against bigotry and reject indifference. It’s the kind of effort that Muslim-Americans said they’ve been waiting for from America’s political and religious leaders.
“For some time, we’ve been asking for pushback. Perhaps this will start a trend,” said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
CAIR has tracked a growing number of attacks on mosques and on individuals in the months following the Paris terrorist attack and the shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California. A severed pig’s head was delivered to a mosque’s doorstep in Philadelphia. Someone attempted to set fire to a mosque in Southern California.
Hooper said harassment and bullying is also on the rise. He cited Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the country as an example of how bias toward Muslims has become part of the American mainstream.
“I don’t think there’s ever been this level of fear and apprehension in the Muslim-American community,” Hooper said.
Meanwhile, some Republicans have criticized Obama for not linking attacks like the one in Paris to “radical Islamic terrorism.” Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Trump have voiced that concern.
Obama has said he refuses to describe the Islamic State and other such groups that way because the term grants them a religious legitimacy they don’t deserve.
In June 2009, just five months into his presidency, Obama toured the Sultan Hassan mosque during a visit to Cairo. In a speech at Cairo University, he declared that the U.S. would never be at war with Islam. “America and Islam are not exclusive,” he said, and share “common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.”
Attendees at the Baltimore mosque are predominantly of Turkish heritage, although immigrants of other nationalities also participate, said Akbar Ahmed, an Islamic studies specialist at American University who has researched mosques around the U.S.
Obama “left it literally to the last” to visit a U.S. mosque, Ahmed noted, “but better late than never.”
Ahmed said the visit will be reassuring to U.S. Muslims amid the heightened rhetoric of the 2016 presidential campaign. “The president going there means he hasn’t forgotten us,” Ahmed said.
Obama will also be sending a signal to the world that the U.S. has not abandoned its commitment to religious pluralism, Ahmed said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
The first “Official” visit as occupant of the POTUS slot ? What about personal visits between 1966 and 1976?
He will take his prayer rug, tell the muslimes (sp) that it is “my muslim religion”, promise there will be no surveillance of terrorist activities emanating from the mosque even though the mosques aid and abet terrorists and terrorism, and declare islam is a peaceful religion. He will then tout all the contributions muslimes have made to this nation (name one) we should overlook all the terrorist attacks and persecution of Jews and Christians. After all they are not conducted by real devout muslimes, but by radicals. But, this overlooks the over two hundred passages in the Qur’an that demand the conversion or death of all non believers. Note, no “moderate” muslime has demanded such passages be removed for that “holy” book. If we don’t learn from Europe’s mistake, stop all further “refugee” imports from Africa, then we deserve what we get from this phoney murderous cult. Get your women fitted for burkas. They may need them.
AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
he warned of growing anti-Semitism in the world.
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The reason non-muslims are apprehensive about muslims is because they and they alone are all taught that jihad is their duty. Also they have a state religion, stone women to death, honor kill women and girls. kill and or subjugate. They are like global guerrillas. No one can tell the believers, terrorists, from the back sliding ones. Same as a racist. You can’t tell a racist from a non-racists by the color of their skin, nationality or whatever. No one else does this. Jews teach an eye for an eye to all, meaning revenge is OK I suppose but preemptive attacks like jihad are not part of this. Christians are all taught that Jesus is the Son of God but we do not engage in terrorism if someone does not buy into this belief.
His comment is just the latest blame someone else for the actions of others. This is party platform of the democratic party and the muslims and others. This idea crops up in welfare payments as well, Society causes many to be disadvantaged so it is the duty of those well off to pay taxes so the disadvantaged can be “equal”. The real motive of the crats is to operate a political plantation so they will have a voting block and can stay in power. This is also known as patronage politics and legalizing abortions, same sex marriages for homosexuals, and other things seem to be the basis for the democratic party. And the basis for socialism which is the situation where the govt determines everything individuals are responsible for. We are responsible for our actions and who we are. Not the govt and neither I or hundreds of millions of people need the or a president preaching and blaming us for the actions of true muslims believers. The jihadist! Can a non-jihadist be a true muslim? If not then they are fair game for the jihadists!
So all of the other visit’s to the mosques was ” Unofficial ” I see it now.
You are judged by the company you keep. I find it real interesting that very few of the adherents to that faith denounce/ condemn the horrific terrorist attacks that have occurred, especially by their clerics. In this country, there’s no excuse. Silence is consent!! Mr. President, we are NOT fooled by all of your rhetoric. We see what is happening in our country and throughout the world… Actions speak louder than words.
If there is a growing number of attacks on mosques, it’s because of the growing number of attacks BY people in the mosques.
Yea, he is real concerned about how the muslims are treated, but fails to mention the mistreatment of the Christians, as if it doesn’t exist. He even mentioned the anti muslim sentiments from Americans at the state of the union address, and again, failed to mention Christianity, which is what this whole country is based on regardless of what anyone thinks. He is a complete traitor to this nation, and should be prosecuted accordingly. Let the muslim lover go and live over there with his brothers. He should be ashamed of himself!
“…and share “common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.” ”
Serious? Name one Muslim-run country where justice, progress, tolerance and dignity for all human beings can be found. This is one of the most ignorant statements President Obama has ever made. Send an openly gay couple to that imaginary place, have them to make-out in public and see if they live long enough to return to the U.S. The president’s remarks are nothing but a fairy tale.
YES!!!
He has failed to mention all the Christians that have been beheaded by the Muslims. He has failed to state that Muslim believers have been killing people here in the U.S. This he wants to call office killings. That they have nothing to do with the Muslim religion. He won’t state that they are trying to put Sharia law above the Constitution & start their own tribunal centers. People need to wake up. Trump is right. NO MORE!!!!!!
United States Army Major Nidal Hasan, a muslim turned murderous traitor, slaughtered 13 people at Fort Hood and injured 30 other people IN THE NAME OF ALLAH. He was simply following the commandment of his muslim faith.
What was just as sickening: President Obama’s little toady friend Eric Holder, who was U.S. attorney general at the time, classified it as “workplace violence” and not as an act of terrorism or war. AND THEREFORE, nobody got the benefits granted to survivors of war injuries or deaths. How horrific and disgusting is that!!!
The treasonist POTUS is a disgrace to the title of “President of The USA! Christian lives don’t matter to a Muslim, only Muslim lives and feelings matter! OSOM!!!
Barack Hussein Obama should feel right at home in a Mosque, his true cultural/religious belief & heritage, which IS the antithesis of America’s Judeo-Christian underpinnings. Obama continues to create his illegal Executive Decrees, doing his best to undermine America’s culture, historical and social norms, in the opinions and beliefs of Millions of Americans.
An old and true addage is – ‘If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck…its an OBAMA-nation.
Until he is removed or replaced, from the White House, he will remain a danger to Our Republic, or what’s left of it. In many peoples minds, Obama appears to be ‘Fifth Column’ plant, by his words & actions, which speaks volumes in that regard. The FIX is in, and the damage is being done. This country doesn’t need another Bush or Clinton in the White House. We need a President OF the People, BY the People and FOR the People and NOT for the Establishment and Socialistic Oligarchy that is forming now. America cannot stand, by a government, of any other, that’s not of the makeup of a Republic, that Our Founding Fathers established, unlike any others on Earth.
As for he loves all muslims and he loves the QURAN as he helped bring a traitor home by releasing 5 Top Talaban Leaders and thus there you go the begining of ISIS is born and now he went to a mosque telling them all we Americans are the true infadels and for his last action will be to see pillary Spliton carry out his wishes by blocking any inditments of benghazi on her and will see that she gets into the whitehouse to carry out his orders as for then he will have truly screwed us the American people of the united States as for that was his plan from the very start just only now are some of you Americans are waking up to all the facts may god help us all .
Why hasnt Congress Impeached Obama a long time ago.Why is Hillary running for the highest office in the land.Both Hillary and Obama should be in jail.Both are pathalogical liars.Obama hates America and is taking it out on the hard working people who do have jobs.He is picking there pockets to give to the bums that dont want to work.He is the worst of the worst.