WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama met with American Muslim leaders on Wednesday to discuss domestic and foreign policy issues, ranging from the Affordable Care Act to addressing violent extremism, the White House said in a statement.
“Among the topics of discussion were the community’s efforts and partnerships with the Administration on a range of domestic issues such as the Affordable Care Act, issues of anti-Muslim violence and discrimination, the 21st Century Policing Task Force, and the upcoming White House Summit on Countering Violence Extremism,” the statement, issued on Wednesday said.
White House will not release names & orgs of "American Muslim Leaders" Obama met today & barred press from covering pic.twitter.com/pCcuzwE1zq
— Adam Kredo (@Kredo0) 4 февраля 2015
The president also discussed the issue of countering the Islamic State’s extremist messages, while vowing to protect Muslim-American’s civil rights and prosecute hate crimes.
There are 2.6 million Muslims in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center.
The political divide in the U.S. on views toward Muslims and Islam http://t.co/wuhkdD7Cfb pic.twitter.com/rxcBi85y2m
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) 30 января 2015