Obama is in favor of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero
Posted on August 14, 2010 by cristina
“As a citizen and as President, I think Muslims should have the right to practice their religion as any other citizen of this country,” Obama said at a reception attended by diplomats from Islamic countries and representatives of the Muslim community.
“This includes the right to build a place of worship and community center on private property in Lower Manhattan in compliance with regulations and local law,” he said.
The service areas of the City of New York in August authorized the construction of the center should include a Muslim prayer room, two blocks from the spot where once stood the twin towers of the WTC.
“We are in America and our commitment to religious freedom is unwavering,” said Obama, who has made improving relations with Muslim nations a key foreign policy.
Nearly 2,750 people perished September 11, 2001 attacks on Al Qaeda that had caused the collapse of both towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan.
“GOD junk”
The families of the victims were mobilized and organized a campaign to oppose the construction of cultural center that they believe is an insult to the memory of those who perished in the attacks.
Representatives of prominent politicians, including Sarah Palin, the former Republican candidate for the vice-presidency, and Newt Gingrich, former Republican chairman of the House of Representatives, called for abandoning the project.
Mark Williams, a spokesman for the Tea Party, an ultra-conservative movement very critical of the policies followed by Barack Obama, said the cultural center would be used “by terrorists to worship their god of junk.”
While the arguments of each other became more and more virulent, Obama has decided on Friday to hear his point of view.
The U.S. president, speaking after a dinner at the White House following the precepts of Ramadan, said that the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution established religious freedom, “a right which has been confirmed.
Barack Obama recalled that Al Qaeda was not synonymous with Islam. “Al Qaeda is not the defender of Islam. It is a serious distortion of Islam.”
Recent polls indicate that 53% of New Yorkers opposed the construction of this cultural center called House Cordoba, a 13-storey building that will house a 500-seat auditorium.