President Barack Obama, focusing on a message of religious tolerance and unity, called for all Americans to stamp out anti-Muslim prejudice during his first presidential visit Wednesday to an American mosque.
"An attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths," Obama said, adding that "we have to be consistent in condemning hateful rhetoric ... none of us can be bystanders to bigotry."
The president thanked the packed auditorium at the Islamic Society of Baltimore for standing up against extremist acts by ISIS and other terror groups who have given a "hugely distorted impression" of their faith, he said.
He also acknowledged how Muslim Americans must routinely swear off the actions of one extremist, while other ethnic and religious groups don't have to answer for what one person in their community does — such as when white South Carolina man Dylann Roof killed nine black parishioners at a church last June.
"You're not Muslim or American — you're Muslim and American. Don't grow cynical," Obama urged. "Don't respond to ignorance by a world view saying you must choose between your faith and your patriotism. Don't believe you must choose between your best impulses."
Obama started his tour of the suburban Baltimore mosque, one of the largest in the mid-Atlantic region, with a round-table discussion involving Muslim community leaders.
He then segued into a talk before community members to denounce the rise in "extremist elements" who twist Islamic text into violent ideology — and, in turn, allow innocent Muslims to get attacked because of the "radical tiny minority."
For more detail President Obama Asks All Americans to Fight Islamophobia During First Mosque Visit
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