Obama said during White House hosting of Iftar dinner in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Aug. 13, 2010.
"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country,".
"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," he said. "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."
It is surely positive for Muslim community but it will surely divide the majority of Americans particularly the victims' families.
Source: FoxNews.Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y said "President Obama is wrong," "It is insensitive and uncaring for the Muslim community to build a mosque in the shadow of ground zero."New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent who has been a strong supporter of the mosque, welcomed Obama's words as a "clarion defense of the freedom of religion."
