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President Hosts Iftar At White House; Supports Right To Build Mosque Near Ground Zero

By Howard M. Friedman

Last night, President Barack Obama hosted an Iftar-- a meal to break the Ramadan fast-- at the White House.  In his remarks (full text), the President focused on the importance of faith and religious free exercise in America, and came out in support of the right of Muslim groups to build a controversial mosque and community center near Ground Zero in New York City.  Here are some excerpts from his remarks:

Here at the White House, we have a tradition of hosting iftars that goes back several years, just as we host Christmas parties and seders and Diwali celebrations. And these events celebrate the role of faith in the lives of the American people. They remind us of the basic truth that we are all children of God, and we all draw strength and a sense of purpose from our beliefs.

These events are also an affirmation of who we are as Americans. Our Founders understood that the best way to honor the place of faith in the lives of our people was to protect their freedom to practice religion.....  Indeed, over the course of our history, religion has flourished within our borders precisely because Americans have had the right to worship as they choose -? including the right to believe in no religion at all..... Now, that's not to say that religion is without controversy. Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities -? particularly New York.  Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of Lower Manhattan....

But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. (Applause.) And 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 unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the Founders must endure.

The New York Times reports that leading Republicans quickly criticized Obama's statement and earlier today the President "recalibrated" his remarks, saying:

I was not commenting, and I will not comment, on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That?s what our country is about.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on August 14, 2010 (boomark / email).