Obama endorses mosque near Ground Zero

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday endorsed building a mosque near Ground Zero, saying the country's founding principles demanded no less.

"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practise their religion as anyone else in this country," Obama said, weighing in for the first time on the controversy.

"That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre 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."

Obama made the comments at an annual dinner in the White House state dining room celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The White House had not previously taken a stand on the mosque, which would be part of a $100-million Islamic centre to be built in lower Manhattan, two blocks from where nearly 3,000 people perished when hijacked jets slammed into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

Well why not? Dubya more or less invited those Arabs into the country to learn how to fly jets. Makes one wonder why they didn't take lessons in Saudi Arabia, it would seem to make more sense. Possibly because the down south flying lessons schools would take anybody as long as they paid up front. Ah, good old democracy and the free market.

Sure they have a right to build their shacks of religion wherever they want, but you would think they would show a little restraint and not build 2 blocks from ground zero. After all, the US isn't building a southern snake charming baptist church in either Irag or Afghanistan near their ground zeros. Wait a tic, their ground zeros is more or less the whole country after being bombed repeatedly by NATO air forces and artillery.

I, for one, would like to see what would happen to the Mormons if they fly a jet into something in New York!

Peace, out..