Mosque (illustration)
Mosque (illustration)Thinkstock

US President Barak Obama will make the first visit of his administration to a mosque in Baltimore County, White House officials announced Saturday.

Amid concern about hostility directed toward Muslim Americans, Obama is pushing to promote religious tolerance against rhetoric linking Islam with terrorism.

The President will hold a round table with the Islamic Society of Baltimore and community members this Wednesday.

“The President will travel to Maryland 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 announced in their statement.

“The president will deliver remarks, where he will 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,” said a White House aide.

The visit comes as part of Obama’s efforts to push back against what he sees as "inflammatory rhetoric" about Muslims coming from Republican presidential candidates in light of a growing wave of worldwide Islamic terror. Obama has stated that anti-Muslim comments make it more difficult for the U.S. to get the cooperation of allies in the Middle East to fight the Islamic State (ISIS).

For their part critics have warned that Obama's program to let in masses of migrants from the Middle East poses a direct threat to American security, as terrorists have been proven to have infiltrated the influx of migrants on several occasions.