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Obama backs plans to build mosque near Ground Zero PTI, Sep 11, 2010, 04.44pm IST WASHINGTON: US _President_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=President) Barack _Obama_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Obama) has backed controversial plans to build a _mosque_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=mosque) near Ground Zero, the site of 9/11 terror attacks in New York, arguing that if one can build a Hindu temple, why not a mosque. "With respect to the mosque in New York, I've been pretty clear on my position here," Obama told a news conference in _White House_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/White-House) last evening, when asked about the controversy surrounding the construction of a mosque near the _Ground Zero_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Ground Zero) in the _New York city_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=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 on the eve of the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks that killed nearly 3000 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 on the eve of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. He remembered the victims of the September 11 attacks and their families who continue to live with a sense of loss. "I recognise 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_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Washington) Post- _ABC News_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=ABC News) poll. They 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-Qaida 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 is because of the location, although 14 per cent say they would oppose such building anywhere in the country. Read more: _Obama backs plans to build mosque near Ground Zero - The Times of India_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6536797.cms?prtpage=1#ixzz0zF4D02wr) _http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6536797.cms?prtpage=1#ixzz0zF4D02wr_ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6536797.cms?prtpage=1#ixzz0zF4D02wr) -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
