While "celebrat[ing] the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation" was the motive issued to the media for Obama's mosque visit, enlisting Muslim Americans as CVE policing interlocutors and informants was the likely reason for the visit. In line with this aim, Obama made "a direct appeal to America's Muslim youth. . . asking Muslim communities to be 'partners' in state and federal campaigns [CVE policing] to combat militant groups that try to recruit young followers of Islam." In a speech that probably would not have been given if not for the San Bernardino shooting, President Obama called for closer collaboration with Muslim Americans to combat and counter radicalization.

QUESTION: Was the CVE partnership framing widely reported as a goodwill gesture rather than a policing request?

Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Unde…, loc. 323