Obama defends the right to install a mosque near Ground Zero

In an impassioned plea for freedom of worship, U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday defended the right to install a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, speaking for the first time in this case potentially explosive.

"As a citizen, as president, I think Muslims have the same right to practice their religion than anyone in this country. This includes the right to build a place of worship and community center on private property in the Manhattan, "Obama said during a meal breaking the fast of Ramadan at the White House.

"We are in the United States, and our commitment to freedom of religion must be unalterable. The principle, whereby people of all faiths are welcome in this country and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to what we are, "the president added, citing the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees freedom of worship.

Obama is so spectacularly position on an issue that causes a major controversy since the New York City Council in May approved the construction of this mosque.

His comments came while also associations of Muslim Americans say they are worried about "a climate of heightened Islamophobia" in the country as we approach the September 11, which this year coincides with the end of Ramadan, calculated on the lunar calendar .

The proponents of the New York contend that the "House Cordoba" help overcome the stereotypes that continue to suffer the Muslim community in the city since the attacks against the skyscrapers of the World Trade Center, which had some 3,000 dead.

Opponents meanwhile ensure that building a mosque so close to Ground Zero is an insult to the memory of the victims, and Friday, Mr. Obama acknowledged the sensitivity of the issue, stressing that "the attacks of Sept. 11 were a deeply traumatic event for our country. "

"The pain and suffering of those who lost loved ones is unimaginable. So I understand the emotion that causes this issue. Ground Zero is undoubtedly sacred ground," he said.

"We must never forget those who died so tragically on Sept. 11, and we must never cease to honor the memory of those who responded to the attack, firefighters rushed to the assault of smoke-filled stairs to our soldiers deployed in Afghanistan today, "said Mr Obama.

"And let us always remember that we are fighting against and why we fight. Our enemies do not respect freedom of religion. The cause of Al-Qaeda is not Islam, is a grotesque distortion of the Islam, "he told the president of the Christian faith, born of an American mother and a Kenyan father Muslim.

"These are not religious leaders: they are terrorists who kill men, women and innocent children. Al Qaeda has killed more Muslims than any other people practicing religion," he pleaded.

The President was speaking at an iftar meal to break the fast observed by Muslims during the month of Ramadan, in the dining room ceremonial White House. This is the second consecutive year that Obama participated in this event, initiated under his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Among the guests were a Muslim elected to Congress, representatives of Islamic organizations, Muslim soldiers and thirty members of the diplomatic corps.