US President Barack Obama on Friday strongly defended the plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero, the site where Muslim terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 and killed nearly 3,000 Americans, saying Muslims “have the right to do so.”
Speaking at a White House iftar dinner, the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast for Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, Obama said Muslims have the same right to freedom of religion as everyone else in America.
Muslims "have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," Obama said, according to a White House transcript.
The White House's Ramadan celebration was held in the State Dining Room with about 90 guests.
"Let me be clear: as a citizen, and as president, I believe That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances."
The proposed mosque has opened in the country a debate over religious tolerance in a post-Sept. 11 society. Some relatives of Sept. 11 victims have come out against the mosque, as have prominent politicians.
Until Friday, the US President has stayed out of the national debate since developers announced plans to build a 100 million dollars, 13-story mosque and Islamic cultural center just two blocks from the World Trade Center site.
Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of Lower Manhattan," he said. "The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. And the pain and the experience of suffering by those who lost loved ones is just unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders."
He added: "This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable."
A majority doesn't want to see the mosque built, national polls show. A CNN/Opinion Research poll earlier this month showed 68% Americans opposed plans to build the mosque, with 29% in favor.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the planned mosque by saying: "The proposed mosque and community center in Lower Manhattan is as important a test of the separation of church and state as we may see in our lifetime, and I applaud President Obama's clarion defense of the freedom of religion tonight."
Opponents, including prominent Republicans like former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, have called the proposed mosque an affront to those who died in the attack by Islamist terrorists.
New York's current governor, Democrat David Paterson, recently suggested he could negotiate an alternative location, but his idea was rejected by mosque planners and by the Mayor.