President Obama plans to visit a mosque near Baltimore on Wednesday to make a plea for tolerance and religious freedom, the White House said Sunday. It will be Obamaâ€™s first visit as president to an American mosque -though he visited a Jakarta mosque during a 2010 visit - and comes at a time when American Muslims have reported a surge of anti-Muslim sentiment, linked partly to comments from Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.

The president will travel to Maryland to visit the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque to celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom.

White House statement

Obama will hold a roundtable with the community and deliver remarks, the White House said. Amid anecdotal reports of increased attacks on Muslims and mosques, US faith leaders called for Obama to visit a mosque and make a high-profile appeal for tolerance, much as President George W. Bush did when he visited the Islamic Cultural Center of Washington just days after the 2001 attacks and said, â€œIslam is peace.â€

(The president will) reiterate the importance of staying true to our core values â€“ welcoming our fellow Americans, speaking out against bigotry, rejecting indifference, and protecting our nationâ€™s tradition of religious freedom.

White House official