Discrimination against US Muslims an affront of our values: Obama

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has praised the contributions of Muslim immigrants to the US, saying any effort to discriminate against the Islamic faith plays into the hands of terrorists.

“Muslim Americans are as patriotic, as integrated, as American as any other members of the American family,” Obama said at a White House reception.
“Whether your family has been here for generations or you’re a new arrival, you’re an essential part of the fabric of our country,” he said.
The Obama administration has faced criticism for its plan to admit as many as 10,000 Syrian refugees to the US this year, with some Republicans warning that violent militants could enter the country posing as refugees.
While not naming Donald Trump specifically, Obama said that discriminatory policies against Muslims are an affront the “values that already make our nation great.”
Trump, who will be giving his official acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, has used “make America great again” as his campaign slogan.
“Singling out Muslim Americans, moreover, feeds the lie of terrorists like Daesh, that the West is somehow at war with a religion that includes over a billion adherents,” Obama said. “That’s not smart national security.”