KUALA LUMPUR: United States President Barack Obama today called on the world to reject the Islamic State’s (IS) message that the US was at war against Islam, amid a growing debate over terrorism and the global refugee crisis.
Obama said the US could never be against a single religion as it was made up of people from multiple religions, and warned against attempts to paint all Muslims with the same brush.
“We are strengthened by people from every religion, including Muslim-Americans.
“I want to stress on this - prejudice and discrimination helps IS and undermines our national security,” he told reporters while wrapping up his three-day visit here to attend the 27th Asean Summit.
Obama said while the US would continue to lead a coalition of 65 countries in the fight against IS, it should not give in to the terrorists plan to create fear and hatred against Muslims.
“There’s a difference between being vigilant - having smart applications of law enforcement and military intelligence - and succumbing to the kind of fear that leads us to abandon our values, how we live or how we treat each other.”
Obama was speaking amid criticism in the US against his administration for advocating the acceptance of Muslim refugees from Syria and Iraq.