NEW YORK – In what could be seen as a criticism of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rhetoric, US President Barack Obama warned that turning refugees away simply because they are “Muslim” would only reinforce the terrorists’ propaganda that the US is opposed to Islam.

“Among them are more than 21 million refugees who have fled their countries – everything and everyone they’ve ever known, fleeing with a suitcase or the clothes on their back,” said Obama, who hosted a ‘Leaders Summit on Refugees’ during the 71st UN General Assembly session in United Nations on Tuesday, PTI reported on Wednesday, September 21.

“And if we were to turn refugees away simply because of their background or religion, or, for example, because they are Muslim, then we would be reinforcing terrorist propaganda that nations like my own are somehow opposed to Islam, which is an ugly lie that must be rejected in all of our countries by upholding the values of pluralism and diversity,” he added.

Obama was speaking at the summit attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Bangladesh Prime Minsiter Sheikh Hasina.

The co-hosts for the Leaders’ Summit included Ethiopia, Germany, Jordan, Mexico and Sweden.

Several of those countries have been struggling under the burden of hosting refugees. Germany, for instance, took in 1 million in 2015 alone.

“I called this summit because this crisis is one of the more urgent tests of our time, a test of collective action,” said Obama, speaking just hours after he delivered his final General Assembly speech as president.

The Leaders’ Summit followed the first UN-wide summit on refugees and migrants, held Monday.

“It’s a test of our international system where all nations ought to share in the responsibility,” Obama said.

“It’s a crisis of our shared security, not because refugees are our threat but because refugees are often fleeing war and terrorism. They are victims.”

Canada Sets Example

In his first UN address, Canadian Prime Minister decried politicians who exploit anxiety to spread hate and fear.

“In Canada, we got a very important thing right. Not perfect, but right,” Trudeau told the United Nations, Toronto Star reported.

“In Canada, we see diversity as a source of strength, not weakness. Our country is strong not in spite of our differences, but because of them.”

Trudeau’s words came to confirm Canada’s position in the world as most welcoming and open to diversity.

Forty-three per cent of respondents to a recent Environics poll, for instance, said “multiculturalism” or “diversity” when asked what makes Canada unique.

“Faced with citizens’ anxiety, we have a choice to make. Do we exploit that anxiety or do we allay it? Exploiting it is easy, but, in order to allay it, we need to be prepared to answer some very direct questions,” Trudeau said.

“We believe we should confront anxiety with a clear plan to deal with its root causes,” he continued, adding: “Fear has never created a single job or fed a single family […] People want their problems solved, not exploited.”

Trudeau warned repeatedly about politicians exploiting anxiety for personal gain.

“By appealing to people’s better angels, by drawing people together rather than stoking fears and anxieties, we were actually able to create a government that is focused on strengthening the middle class, to allay those fears and anxieties and demonstrate a positive engagement with the world,” Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday evening.

“Last fall, we had a political campaign that featured Islamophobia and divisive personal attacks, pandering to fear and insecurity like we do see elsewhere around the world these days,” he added.

“What matters is that we learn from out mistakes and recommit to doing better,” said Trudeau, pointing to how Canadians have welcomed 31,000 Syrian refugees this year.