Obama is going to visit a U.S. mosque for the first time as president


President Obama will visit a U.S. mosque for the first time during his presidency, the White House announced Saturday, The Baltimore Sun reports.
He'll head to the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday to "to celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life," the White House said.
The visit comes as Islamophobia factors heavily into the 2016 presidential race. Republican hopeful Donald Trump has called for a ban on all Muslims entering the U.S.
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In 2010, Obama toured a mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, and others while abroad.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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