Obama: Muslims have right to build place of worship

Combined news reports

President Barack Obama said a Muslim group has a right to build an Islamic center near the World Trade Center, site of the 9/11 attacks.

"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country," Obama said Friday night. "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."

In remarks prepared for an annual White House iftar dinner, the traditional breaking of the daily fast in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Obama for the first time weighed in on the debate about the planned mosque.

"The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are," Obama said Friday.

The proposal to put the center on Park Place, two blocks from the target of the 2001 attacks, has drawn opposition from politicians and civic groups.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the president's comments.

"As I said last week, this 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," Bloomberg said in a statement.

"We must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan," Obama said. But he added religious freedom is among the things "we are fighting for" against terrorists such as al-Qaida.

But some critics were quick to pounce. "President Obama is wrong," said Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) "It is insensitive and uncaring for the Muslim community to build a mosque in the shadow of Ground Zero. While the Muslim community has the right to build the mosque they are abusing that right by needlessly offending so many people who have suffered so much."

Obama's speech came after the Muslim Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group based in Los Angeles, contacted law enforcement authorities and the Justice Department to alert them of the overlap of Ramadan this year with Sept. 11.

Eid al-Fitr, a joyous holiday marking the end of Ramadan, this year falls around Sept. 11. Muslim leaders fear that their gatherings for prayer and festivities could be misinterpreted as a celebration of the 2001 terrorist strikes.

Meanwhile, New York's Conservative Party is planning a television ad campaign beginning next week asking viewers to help pressure Con Edison, part owner of the Park Place building, into blocking the proposed mosque.

"Con Edison's values call for respecting people without regard to their racial, ethnic, or religious orientation," the utility said Friday.