President Obama paid the first visit to a U.S.-based mosque and made a stirring call to unity between Islam and America s other major religions. In his visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore in Maryland, Obama cut through a lot of conservative Republican rhetoric about the role of Islam in America. Muslim Americans keep up safe,  Obama told the audience, crediting the contributions Muslims have made to communities.  They are our police. They are our fire fighters. They re in (the Department of) Homeland Security. President Obama has had to repeatedly, patiently explain during the course of his presidency that the United States is not at war with Islam, but in fact relies on practitioners of the faith to serve side by side in the war against international terrorism.By contrast, Republican conservatives have constantly demonized Islam, acting as if its followers are monolithically pro-terrorism, when in reality the violent acts have been carried out by an extremely small sect. Top tier Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has gone the furthest, calling for a Muslim registry and a ban on Muslim travel to the country.In the speech today, President Obama explained: We are one American family. We will rise and fall together. He specifically spoke out to young Muslim Americans, who may feel lost and shunned thanks to extremist right-wing rhetoric about their faith: You re right where you belong. You re part of America too. In the speech, Obama also called on the media to do more to include Muslims in films and television shows, pointing out that Muslims shouldn t just be cast in roles about terrorism, but rather in roles that reflect their diverse standing in American life. The President pointed out that this has been done before, as there once were not many portrayals of black Americans in film/tv.Featured image from YouTube