Obama: Islam has always been part of America

“We’ve heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim-Americans that has no place in our country”, he said after meeting behind closed doors with Muslim community leaders from around the U.S.

Real-estate mogul Donald Trump said Wednesday that President Barack Obama may have visited a Maryland mosque “because he feels comfortable there”.

President Obama’s visit to a USA mosque Tuesday was welcomed by Minnesota’s Muslim community, but many considered the gesture “late”.

“An attack on one faith, is an attack on all faiths”.

Mr Obama noted that during the current presidential campaign politicians were using “inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslims” that has no place in the American society.

Mr. Obama has appeared at mosques elsewhere and has made similar remarks on other occasions, but this was his first visit to an American mosque, a setting Dr. Sherif Elfass, President of the Northern Nevada Muslim Community, says had special impact. “And around the globe, Muslims who’ve dared to speak out have often been targeted and even killed So those voices are there; we just have to amplify them more”.

“So I was not the first”, Obama said to laughter from a hundred or so Muslims who gathered for his speech. Although Obama has visited mosques overseas, he waited until his final year in office to make such a visit at home, reflecting the issue’s sensitive political implications.

“We must never give them that legitimacy”.

Trump largely dropped his effort after Obama produced his birth certificate, which showed he was born in Hawaii. Muslim-American advocacy groups have warned of growing antagonism that has followed recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, by those purporting to act in the name of Islam. “It’s true. Look it up”. However, when those who say they think religious teachings are the bigger problem are asked to specify which religions they think are problematic, Islam is the most common response offered, it said. “We can not be bystanders to bigotry”.

Almost half of Americans think at least some U.S. Muslims are anti-American, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday.

“We’ve had mosques tapped, mosques infiltrated, we’ve had fake converts coming in”, he told Al Jazeera.

“By the way, opponents of Thomas Jefferson tried to stir things up by suggesting that he’s Muslim, so I’m not the first”, Obama said with a smirk.