United States President Barack Obama has stressed that the US is not at war with an entire religion, that is, Islam.

Obama was commenting on the need to fight Islamic State (IS) both on the battlefield, as well as how everyone could play their part to destroy the terrorist organisation.

“In our diverse societies, everybody can do their part. We won’t give in to fear or start turning on each other or treating some people differently, just because of religion or race,” he said in his press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

“It would be IS’ propaganda, their assertions which are absolutely false, that we must absolutely reject, that we are somehow at war with an entire religion.

“The US can never be at war with any religion because America is made up of multiple religions, strengthened by people from every religion, including Muslim Americans,” he stressed.

Prejudice and discrimination will only help IS and would also undermine the US’ national security, he added.

“As we destroy them on the battlefield [...] we want to make sure we don’t lose our own values and principles,” he said.

Obama earlier had pointed out how 120 civil society groups, including many leaders from Muslim communities around the world, had become part of a global movement against IS.

“... We will not accept the idea that terrorist attacks on restaurants and hotels are the new norm, or that we are powerless to stop them.

“That's precisely what terrorists like IS want, because ultimately that’s the only way that they can win, that’s the nature of terrorism,” he said.

This is especially since, he said, they could not beat the US on the battlefield.

“So they try to terrorise us into being afraid, into changing our patterns of behaviour, to panic into abandoning our allies and partners, into retreating from the world. As president, I will not let that happen,” he pledged.

Obama’s remarks today came as Islamophobia around the world is said to be on the rise, after the terrorist attacks in Paris, France, which claimed the lives of 130 people.

IS claimed responsibility for the worst violence in France since World War Two, in which civilians were killed in bombings and shootings.