City mosque now an election issue

Republicans have attacked US President Barack Obama for his comments on a controversial plan to build a Muslim cultural centre in New York, saying he was "disconnected" from the nation in an election year.

Mr Obama waded into the debate on Friday when he appeared to offer his backing for the centre, called Cordoba House, to be built two blocks from "Ground Zero" - the site of the 11 September, 2001 attacks on New York City.

On Saturday, seeking to clarify his position, Mr Obama said he supported the right of Muslims to build the centre but would not comment on the "wisdom" of its location.

Prominent Republicans have argued against the proposed site of the centre, saying it was insensitive. Yesterday, several criticised Obama for what they said was his support of the centre's construction and subsequent confusion on the issue.

Speaking on the Fox News Sunday TV show, Texas Republican John Cornyn said: "This is not about freedom of religion, because we all respect the right of anyone to worship according to the dictates of their conscience … but I do think it's unwise to build a mosque at the site where 3,000 Americans lost their lives as the result of a terrorist attack.

"To me it demonstrates that Washington, the White House, the administration, the president himself seems to be disconnected from the mainstream of America."

Peter King, a Republican congressman from New York who opposes the location of the centre, told CNN's State of the Union programme that Obama clearly gave the impression he supported its construction but then backed off the next day.

"If the President was going to get into this, he should have been much more clear, much more precise and he can't be changing his decision from day to day."

Mr Obama's remarks put him in the middle of a heated political debate months before November mid-term elections, which are expected to result in big losses for the Democrats and a potential power shift in Congress in favour of Republicans.

Earlier this month a New York City agency cleared the way for the construction of Cordoba House, a 13-storey building that would include meeting rooms, a prayer space, an auditorium and a pool.

Some of the families of those killed in the attacks have mounted an emotional campaign to block it, calling the centre provocative and a betrayal of the memory of the victims.

"It does put salt on the wound," King said. He has urged Muslim leaders to reconsider the location.

Supporters of the right to build the centre, including New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, argue that religious tolerance is the best answer to religious extremism.

"Al-Qaeda attacked us, Islam did not attack us," Jerrold Nadler, a Democratic congressman whose district includes the Ground Zero site, said on State of the Union."We were not attacked by all Muslims and there were Muslims who were killed there."

A CNN poll showed a majority of Americans across the political spectrum opposed the project being built near the site of the attacks.

The survey showed nearly 70 per cent of Americans opposed it, including 54 per cent of Democrats, 82 per cent of Republicans and 70 per cent of independent voters.

Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist, told CBS's Face The Nation programme: "Intellectually the president may be right. But this is an emotional issue and people who lost kids, brothers, sisters, fathers, do not want that mosque in New York and it's going to be a big, big issue for Democrats across this country."