Barack Obama Quotes

My national identity is first American. My religious identity is first Muslim.

Not long ago someone said I should shorten it to just Emma. But I really, really love my name. From as far as I can remember, my parents have taught me to be really proud of my name.

I'm not defined by where I came from. I never took part in the rules and hatred that sometimes go along with religion. But if my parents are happy with what they believe, then I'm happy to stay out of their way. We agree to disagree.

We are special because we've been united not by a common race or ethnicity. We're bound together by common values. That family is the most important institution in society. That almighty God is the source of all we have.

My great grandfather emigrated from Italy, and my grandfather worked in a steel mill and was able to raise kids and have a family and go on vacation.

I am a proud, British-born Muslim, and I love my country more than any other place on earth.

Growing up, I came to love Egypt and respect Islam, but I never thought to go beyond the surface. Back in Canada, many of my father's Egyptian friends questioned his decision not to raise his only child more strictly in the faith. I was not taught salat, the Muslim ritual of prayer, nor did I study Arabic.

I had parents who instilled in me the importance of love, morals and hard work. I give God all the glory because he has brought me through so much.

I came to this country when I was 12 years old because my parents wanted to give me new opportunities to succeed. President Obama wants everyone to have the chances I had.

I love the fact that we, as black people, carry our faith with us. We share it and embrace it and love it and talk about it because we talk about everything else and why not that and that was the first impression that I had that really touched me.

I come from an immigrant culture. I'm only a couple of generations away from having been a servant girl myself.

Education is extremely important to the Hispanic community, as well as faith, and certainly working hard.

I think it is a sin to look at another person as inferior to yourself because of race or because of ethnic background, and I think the greatest thing to do is to pray that God will give you love for them, and I do.

In America, now, let us - Christian, Jew, Muslim, agnostic, atheist, wiccan, whatever - fight nativism with the same strength and conviction that we fight terrorism. My faith calls on its followers to love one's enemies. A tall order, that - perhaps the tallest of all.

There is nothing wrong with America that faith, love of freedom, intelligence, and energy of her citizens cannot cure.

As a first generation Jewish American, I have witnessed firsthand Jewish immigrants who have come to this Nation in order to create a better life for themselves, their families, and future generations.

True equality means holding everyone accountable in the same way, regardless of race, gender, faith, ethnicity - or political ideology.

I think the Hispanic community, the values that resonate in our community, are fundamentally conservative. They are faith, family, patriotism.

The essence of America - that which really unites us - is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion - it is an idea - and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.

There should be no discrimination against languages people speak, skin color, or religion.

We examine and highlight the history of the African descendants in America, and know that each and every one of us has come this far because of our faith in this country.

God had a plan for everything. I never knew I'd come to Iowa, but now I love Iowa. Everything is so great about it - the people, the environment, education. I'm so proud to say I'm an Iowan. I'm living the dream.

We were a religious, practicing, Catholic family - Mass together on Sunday, Catholic schools, and parents who practiced everything they preached. A great gift was their total absence of any derogatory talk about people of any race or culture and we were on a street of many faiths, though no other races at that early time.

That someone like Obama could be elected president of the United States - with its unrivaled power and prestige - has begun to restore the country's and the world's faith in America as the land of opportunity.

My earliest memories are of my father explaining to me the American Dream and how he expected me to do better than he did.