Obama to Make First Visit to U.S. Mosque

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President Obama will make the first visit during his presidency to a U.S. mosque, the White House announced today, part of the administration’s push to promote religious tolerance at a time when rhetoric linking Islam with terrorism is growing.

On Wednesday, the president will visit the Islamic Society of Baltimore, a community center in the city’s western suburbs that serves thousands of people with a place of worship, a housing complex and schools, according to its website. It is one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s largest Muslim centers and describes itself as aspiring “to be the anchor of a growing Muslim community with diverse backgrounds, democratically governed, relating to one another with inclusiveness and tolerance, and interacting with neighbors in an Islamic exemplary manner.”

The president is making the visit “to celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life,” a White House official wrote in an email Saturday. “The President believes that one of our nation’s greatest strengths is our rich diversity and the very idea that Americans of different faiths and backgrounds can thrive together – that we’re all part of the same American family. As the President has said, Muslim Americans are our friends, and neighbors; our co-workers, and sports heroes – and our men and women in uniform defending our country.”

At the Islamic Society, the president will hold a roundtable discussion with community members, the official said.

The visit will be part of the tightrope-walking Obama has done during his presidency around Islam.

For years, Muslim Americans have lobbied him to visit a mosque, citing Islamophobia. At the same time, a segment of Obama’s critics have said since he took office that he is a Muslim pretending to be Christian, and that he plays down the religious aspect of Muslim extremism. Recent polls show that 29 percent of Americans and nearly 45 percent of Republicans think he is a Muslim. The visit comes in the last year of his presidency.

The possibility of a mosque visit came up again a month ago, when several prominent Muslim Americans met with senior White House officials to discuss concerns about rising hostility toward people of their faith. During that session _ which was attended by White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, Domestic Policy Council director Cecilia Muñoz and deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes — the Islamic leaders asked for Obama to visit a mosque, ideally with former president George W. Bush.

Presidents rarely visit houses of worship, aside from when they have attended church for their own religious practices. Obama regularly attends religious services on key holidays. In May, he visited a synagogue for the first time as president.

(c) The Washington Post

{Matzav.com}

 


6 COMMENTS

  1. Smart. Mulims are americans.

    This will decrease ethnoxenophobia, minimize some islamophobia, open a forum for muslim focus in America and hopefully make terror less gainful in the eyes of the Islamic community.

    Every president should have forums with jews christians muslims hindu and most other significant faith.

    We are Americans and we want representation.

    This is not a step in the wrong direction and the block will be safer.

    I feel missing an opportunity to work for peace is ungainful.

    Obama is brave and he will need many people to continue some of his work in meaningful future years.

    We can do this.

    G-d bless America.

  2. Comment three sounds like a robot! Seriously was that even a person! And jews are targeted for hate crimes the most in america where is he to visit a shul to explain why americans don’t hate jews?

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