ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter says he didn’t hesitate to address a Muslim convention last month in Detroit.

Carter told an audience in Atlanta today that members of the Islamic Society of North America “are very moderate in their position, they’re against violence, and so I had no compunction about going to visit them.”

The former president said the Islamic society’s annual meeting attracted thousands of people, including Muslim clerics from the U.S. and abroad who signed a pledge to help reduce the abuse of women and girls.

Carter said he’s working with Muslim leaders who agree that the Quran and other scriptures teach that “all people are equal in the eyes of God.”

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