Obama to visit USA mosque to counter Republican rhetoric about Muslims

It may have been President Barack Obama’s first visit to an American mosque, but his appearance at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday was just the latest stop on Obama’s anti-Trump tour. “That’s how we show the lie that they’re trying to propagate”, Obama said.

Pushing back at critics who say he should talk about “Islamic terrorists”, he said that, “We shouldn’t play into terrorist propaganda”.

Social media users had all kinds of issues with the president’s mosque visit.

“We’ve seen too often people conflating the horrific acts of terrorism with the beliefs of an entire faith”, Obama said.

“The notion that they would be filled with doubt, questioning their place in this great country of ours at a time when they’ve got enough to worry about”. Out of this 49 percent, 11 percent considers “most” or “almost all” and 14 percent “about half” of the US Muslim population to be anti-American.

Republican candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have also repeatedly warned of “radical Islamic terrorism” and insulted Obama for refusing to use the term, which the President has said unfairly demonizes a whole faith.

Fear of terrorist attacks on American soil has risen after attacks in San Bernardino, California, and Paris. “Oh, you know, basically implying that America is discriminating against Muslims”. There are a lot of places you can go, and he chose a mosque. “The vast majority of the people they kill are innocent Muslim men, women, and children”, Obama said.

While President Obama has visited several mosques overseas during his presidency, this was the first time he ever spoke in one at home.

“I’m exhausted of being divided against each other for political reasons like this president’s done”, Rubio said at a Wednesday campaign stop in Dover, New Hampshire. “We are one American family”. In contrast, President George W. Bush visited a mosque days after the 9/11 attacks, stressing that the U.S. government was “not at war with Muslims”.

Speaking to Muslim Americans at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama called for unity among American faith communities, recognized the contributions of Muslim citizens, and asked for Muslims around the world to help combat the extremist ideologies of groups like the Islamic State.

Obama cast blame on the entertainment industry for perpetuating negative stereotypes that cast Muslims in roles linked to storylines of terror.