Obama facing storm over US mosque

After skirting the controversy for weeks, Obama weighed in forcefully on the planned mosque near the site of the destroyed World Trade Centre on Friday, saying a nation built on religious freedom must allow it.

"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practise their religion as everyone else in this country," Obama told an intently listening crowd gathered at the White House to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"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. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."

The White House had not previously taken a stand on the mosque, which would be part of a $100 million Islamic community centre not far from where nearly 3,000 people perished when hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Centre towers on 11 September 2001. Press secretary Robert Gibbs had insisted it was a local matter.

It was already much more than that, sparking debate around the country as top Republicans including Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich announced their opposition. So did the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group.

Obama elevated it to a presidential issue on Friday without equivocation.

While insisting that the place where the Twin Towers once stood was indeed "hallowed ground," Obama said that the proper way to honour it was to apply American values.

Harkening back to earlier times when the building of synagogues or Catholic churches also met with opposition, Obama said: "Time and again, the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues, and stay true to our core values and emerge stronger for it. So it must be and will be today."

Entering the highly charged election-year debate, Obama surely knew that his words would not only make headlines in the US but be heard by Muslims worldwide. The president has made it a point to reach out to the global Muslim community, and the more than 100 guests at last Friday's dinner in the State Dining Room included ambassadors and officials from numerous nations where Islam is observed, including Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent who has been a strong supporter of the mosque, welcomed Obama's words as a "clarion defence of the freedom of religion."

But some victims' advocates and Republicans were quick to pounce.

"Barack Obama has abandoned America at the place where America's heart was broken nine years ago, and where her true values were on display for all to see," said Debra Burlingame, a spokeswoman for some of the September.11 victims' families and the sister of one of the pilots killed in the attacks.

Building the mosque at ground zero, she said, "is a deliberately provocative act that will precipitate more bloodshed in the name of Allah."

However, in last Friday's speech, Obama also stressed that al Qaeda was not synonymous with Islam.

"Al Qaeda's cause is not Islam, it is a gross distortion of Islam," he said. "These are not religious leaders - these are terrorists who murder innocent men, women and children."

Acording to a poll last week, 53 per cent of New Yorkers oppose the construction of the mosque, while another found that nearly 70 per cent of Americans opposed the plan. Opponents include some September 11 victims' relatives, who see the prospect of a mosque so near the destroyed buildings as an insult to the memory of those killed by Islamic terrorists.

Republican Peter King of New York said: "President Obama is wrong. It is insensitive and uncaring for the Muslim community to build a mosque in the shadow of ground zero."

The Cordoba House community centre is the brainchild of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who said last month that he had modelled it on the Young Men's Christian Association.

Now simply called the Y, YMCA facilities across the United States offer exercise classes, education and community activities.

The city agency's August 3 ruling is expected to clear the way for construction of Cordoba House, which will include a 500-seat auditorium, art exhibition spaces and a swimming pool as part of a 13-storey complex.

Since coming into office, Obama, a Democrat, has worked to reach out to Muslims, many of whom felt targeted by the "war on terror" and by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a speech in Cairo in June 2009, Obama called for a "new beginning" in ties between the United States and Muslims, saying extremists had exploited tensions between Muslims and the West and that Islam was not part of the problem.

On Friday, Obama spent an hour on a video teleconference with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, agreeing that the two countries should continue to work together to keep the pressure on the Taleban, fight terrorism and protect the Afghan people.

The two leaders discussed a number of topics, including approaching Afghan parliamentary elections, anti-corruption efforts, civilian casualties and delivering basic services to people.

The White House said Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and General David Petraeus, the top commander in Afghanistan, also participated in the video teleconference from Kabul.