Obama makes first visit to United States mosque

Alluding to conspiracy theories that suggest he himself is a Muslim, Obama who is a Christian, said the same rumours had plagued Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the Declaration of Independence and third USA president. There is a tiny minority, which purposely uses selected religious verses to spread a message of hate but this was not the first time this had been done and Islam is not the first religion exploited this way.

Before addressing the congregation, Mr Obama had a closed-door meeting with Muslim community leaders.

Obama also urged Muslims to be vigilant in their communities and to shun terrorist groups like al Qaeda and ISIS.

Obama’s comments on Wednesday came in light of recent calls from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US.

“As a Muslim I felt honored and humbled that the president of the United States actually went to a mosque”.

The US president said there was a warped image of Islam in the country and encouraged members of the faith to speak out against terror.

During a visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday, Obama thanked Muslim Americans for their contribution to the country and reaffirmed the importance of religious freedom to the American way of life. You’re not Muslim or American.

“An attack on one religion is an attack on all religions”, Obama said in his remarks.

It’s not clear if any of this history prompted him to delay visiting a mosque until his past year in office: American presidents rarely pay formal visits to houses of worship and he waited until last May to attend a synagogue in his presidential capacity.

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”.

“I don’t have much thought”. “And I express these facts, although they would be obvious to numerous people in this place, because unfortunately it’s not facts that are communicated on a regular basis through our media”. We’re one American family.

“I’m going to search for that clip and I’m going to show it over and over to my children who ask me ‘Are we not welcome here anymore?’ ‘Are we second class citizens?'” said Elfass.