President Obama will travel to a mosque in Baltimore on Wednesday in a show of solidarity with Muslim Americans, marking the first visit of his presidency to a U.S. mosque.
At the Islamic Society of Baltimore, the president will “celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life,” said a White House official on Saturday.
Obama has recently knocked Republican presidential candidates for anti-Muslim comments, which he said has not been helpful in protecting the country against the threat of the Islamic State.
“When politicians insult Muslims … that doesn’t make us safer,” Obama said during his last State of the Union address in January. “It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals.”
His remarks were a swipe primarily at GOP front-runner Donald Trump, who has called for a ban on Muslims from entering the U.S.
After visiting the Maryland mosque on Wednesday, Obama will hold a roundtable discussion with the community to “reiterate the importance of staying true to our core values — welcoming our fellow Americans, speaking out against bigotry, rejecting indifference and protecting our nation’s tradition of religious freedom,” the White House official said.
