WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Americans not to stigmatize Muslims following this week’s deadly attacks in Brussels, saying that doing so is “counterproductive” in the fight against radicals.
In his weekly media address, Obama said Muslim-Americans are “our most important partners in the nation’s fight against those who would wage violent jihad.”
“That’s why we have to reject any attempt to stigmatize Muslim-Americans, and their enormous contributions to our country and our way of life,” Obama said.
“Such attempts are contrary to our character, to our values, and to our history as a nation built around the idea of religious freedom. It’s also counterproductive,” he said.
“It plays right into the hands of terrorists who want to turn us against one another — who need a reason to recruit more people to their hateful cause.”
Obama made his remarks as the global community continues to reel from Tuesday’s attacks in Belgium, claimed by Daesh, which killed 31 dead, including two Americans, and wounded 300.
“At least 14 Americans were injured, and we pray for their full recovery, along with everyone else affected by these attacks,”
The remarks by the Democratic president follow controversial statements in the wake of the Brussels bombings by the two top Republicans vying to succeed him in the White House.
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