U.S. President Barack Obama (C) holds a roundtable with Muslim American community leaders at the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque in Catonsville, Maryland February 3, 2016.

President Barack Obama says bias against any segment of American society tears at the fabric holding the nation together and must be tackled “head on.”

In an address Wednesday at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama pushed back against bias that Muslim Americans say is on the rise following terrorist attacks in Paris and California.

Obama talked about a 13-year-old Muslim girl from Ohio who wrote him to say she is scared.

Obama said that girl is like his own daughters. He says it’s wrong that any child would be filled with doubt or question their place in society.

The visit was Obama’s first as president to an American mosque.

Before the speech, Obama met at the mosque with Muslim-American leaders from around the country.

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