Obama condemns anti-Muslim sentiment in first mosque visit

“And of course, recently, we’ve heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim Americans that has no place in our country”, Obama said without naming Trump, who has called for a temporary bar on the entry of Muslims into the U.S., or anyone else.

Not only was President Barack Obama’s visit to the Islamic Center of Baltimore on Wednesday controversial for the mosque’s ties to religious extremism, he opened his address with a greeting that rubbed many viewers the wrong way.

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

POTUS later spoke privately with 12 Muslim-American leaders, which included students, activists, Quran scholars and doctors.

Obama’s speech in Maryland condemned anti-Muslim rhetoric, following proposals by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to ban Muslims from entering the country.

“We’ve seen mosques vandalized”, Obama said, warning that such unequal treatment for certain groups in society tears at the nation’s fabric.

“We have to be consistent in condemning hateful rhetoric and violence against everyone, and that includes against Muslims here in the United States of America”.

“When any religious group is targeted, we all have a responsibility to speak up and we have to reject politics that seeks to manipulate prejudice or bias and targets people because of religion. Engagement with Muslim Americans communities must never be a cover for surveillance”, Obama said.

Obama had visited mosques in Malaysia, Indonesia and Egypt as president, but this was his first visit to one of America’s 2,000-plus places of Islamic worship.

Obama also decried hostility towards Muslims following last year’s shooting attack in San Bernardino, California. “No, it’s true. Look it up”.

“So I was not the first”, Obama said to laughter.

Republicans vying to be the party’s candidate for the November 8 presidential election also argued against Obama’s plan to accept 10,000 refugees fleeing Syria’s war, saying it raised national security risks. “It came late,”he said, “but at least it came”.

According to a new Pew survey released on Wednesday, about 49 percent Americans think at least some U.S. Muslims are anti-American.