Though in the final year of his presidency, President Barack Obama is continuing to break personal ground by visiting a U.S. mosque for the first time in his presidency.

Obama plans to visit the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday to meet with leaders of the local Muslim community.

The visit will amount to a public embrace of Muslims by Obama at a time when political discourse against them seems to be growing in some quarters, largely fueled by fears of terrorist acts carried out by extremist groups. The White House said he will go to the Baltimore mosque to "celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life."

In remarks to be delivered at the mosque, Obama "will reiterate the importance of staying true to our core values: welcoming our fellow Americans, speaking out against bigotry, rejecting indifference and protecting our nation's tradition of religious freedom," the White House said.

overwhelming majority of americans understand of diversity and religious pluralism is one of our greatest strengths https://t.co/AM1JLoA1TI — President Obama (@POTUS) January 14, 2016

so we all need to speak out against bias and stereotypes, to protect the freedom of others, and our own as well. — President Obama (@POTUS) January 14, 2016

Obama has been outspoken in pushing back against calls by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and others to block Muslims from being admitted to the U.S. over fears of domestic terrorism linked to radical extremist groups.

Others have cited potential security risks in pushing legislation in Congress to limit the resettlement of refugees from Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic State group is active and from which it has exported its brand of terrorism to other regions of the world.

It was a topic Obama addressed in his final State of the Union address a few weeks ago, saying:

That’s why we need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. This isn’t a matter of political correctness. It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith. His Holiness, Pope Francis, told this body from the very spot I stand tonight that “to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.” When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid bullied, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling it like it is. It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. And it betrays who we are as a country.

"That’s not telling it like it is."http://on.mash.to/1SNJfE8 Posted by Mashable News on Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Obama has argued that such efforts are wrong and serve only to incite extremist groups, weaken America's leadership around the world and put U.S. security at risk.

"We're not going to build progress with a bunch of phony tough talk, and bluster, and over-the-top claims that just play into ISIL's hands," the president said, using an acronym for the Islamic State. He spoke to House Democrats on Thursday as they strategized at a meeting in Baltimore. "We're not going to strengthen our leadership around the world by allowing politicians to insult Muslims or pit groups of Americans against each other. That's not who we are. That's not keeping America safe."

Obama himself has battled various conservative conspiracy theories that he himself is a Muslim (he is not), a storyline that has reared its head even in this election cycle.

Additional reporting by Mashable.

