Posted on 09/10/2010 3:09:19 PM PDT by James C. Bennett
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.
Are they building a temple on ground zero? a synagogue?
Neither, as far as I am aware of. Only a victory mosque.
Obama you stupid **** ... once again ... now LISTEN this time...
Mosque at GROUND ZERO is the equivalent of a STATUE of HITLER outside of AUSCHWITZ. or a statue of the ATOMIC BOMB in HIROSHIMA.
(Godwin be damned)
Is it possible for a man to be this stupid?
I mean, how rediculous can he be?
Sharia law is not a religion. It is a hideous, totalitarian ideology masquerading as religion that wants to control the world. Any Mosque or Inmama that preaches Sharia Law should lose any religious protection and be treated for the enemy they are.
did jews or hindus knock down the WTC??
seriously, he can’t be so dense
Ummmmmm.... maybe because we weren’t attacked on 9/11 by Hindus or Jews?
Maybe a certain 'religion' having a propensity for terror attacks has something to do with that.
"September 11 terror attacks that killed nearly 300 people."
I know it's a typo but it's a pretty bad one.
All this blah blah from barry is just plain BS.
He let us all know what he thinks of New Yorkers when he buzzed the city in Air Force One.
And to think that most of NYC voted for this guy.
There is a Greek Orthodox church which was damaged by the attack -- St. Nicholas.
City and union red tape have blocked its rebuilding for nine years now.
Um, because the city has blocked the restoration of the Greek Orthodox Christian church right at the site that was damaged on 9/11?
What a f***tard that man is.
What a moronic comparison. No Hindu wants to build a temple there and let’s say they did there would be no opposition because Hindus are no threat to America in anyway and are the exact opposite of violent.
This is a super dumb statement from a guy who speaks stupid all day long.
Is he stupid?
If the vast majority of 911 families say they’d be offended if a Hindu temple or a Christian church were built there then I’d say they shouldn’t build one of those...however the fact remains that what is proposed is a mosque, and it is the mosque that the 911 families are protesting...and that also shouldn’t be built there.
If Hindu temple okay at ground zero, why not mosque:
You seem to have added that element for some reason.
When was the last time a Hindu, Jew, Buddhist or Greek Orthodox hijacked a plane, flew it into a building and killed a few thousand people?
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