WASHINGTON: On the eve of the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, President Barack Obama on Friday strongly defended the building of a mosque near Ground Zero, saying that if one can build a Hindu temple then why not a mosque.
"With respect to the mosque in New York, I've been pretty clear on my position here," Obama said when asked about the controversy surrounding the construction of a mosque near the Ground Zero in the New York city.
He said the US believes in the inalienable right to allow its citizens to practice their religion freely.
"This country stands for the proposition that all men and women are created equal, that they have certain inalienable rights; one of those inalienable rights is to practice their religion freely," he argued ahead of the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks that killed nearly 300 people.
"And what that means is that if you could build a church on a site, you could build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, then you should be able to build a mosque on the site," Obama said.
He also remembered the victims of the 9/11 attacks and their families who continue to live with a sense of loss.
"I recognize the extraordinary sensitivities around 9/11. I've met with families of 9/11 victims in the past.I can only imagine the continuing pain and anguish and sense of loss that they may go through," he said
"And tomorrow, we as Americans are going to be joining them in prayer and remembrance," Obama said.
Most Americans have opposed construction of the planned mosque near Ground Zero, according to the Washington Post- ABC News poll.
Most Americans say the planned Muslim community centre and place of worship should not be built in Lower Manhattan, near the site of the Twin Towers which were blown up by al Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001.
Two-thirds of those polled object to the mosque near Ground Zero while a slim majority expresses strongly negative views.
As many as 82 per cent of those who oppose the construction say it's because of the location, although 14 per cent (nine per cent of all Americans) say they would oppose such building anywhere in the country.
