Obama Voices Support for Mosque Near Ground Zero in Call for Tolerance

President Barack Obama, marking the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, for the first time voiced support for the mosque near Ground Zero, in a White House speech Friday appealing for religious tolerance and respect.

Obama prefaced his support for the project by acknowledging objections to its construction a few blocks from the World Trade Center site. "I understand the emotions that this issue engenders," he said. "Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground." But Obama was firm and unwavering in his belief that the project -- a community center with an on-site mosque -- should go ahead as planned.

In doing so, the president waded into the thicket of opinions -- with detractors ranging from Sarah Palin and the Anti-Defamation League, to such supporters as Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York and the local community board overseeing the center's construction.

"Let me be clear," Obama said, "As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. 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 unshakable."

In an address at the White House on Friday evening to mark the beginning of Ramadan, Obama delivered a message of tolerance, recalling religious freedom as a principle upon which America was founded -- and one of its greatest strengths.

"A nation where the ability of peoples of different faiths to coexist peacefully and with mutual respect for one another," said the president, "stands in contrast to the religious conflict that persists around the globe."

Calling traditional White House celebrations of religious holidays -- including Ramadan, Christmas, Passover and Diwali -- "an affirmation of who we are as Americans," the president invoked the spirit of the Founding Fathers, echoing the words of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that "all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion."

The president highlighted the important role that Muslims have played in American history, recalling "generations of Muslims [who] came here to forge their future." He noted that Muslim-Americans work as "police, firefighters and first responders," and cited those serving "with honor" in the U.S. military.

Speaking to an audience of Muslim community leaders, administration staff, and members of Congress at a traditional Iftar dinner, the president invoked the Pledge of Allegiance, the Golden Rule and the Constitution.

"In the end," Obama said, "we remain 'One nation, under God, indivisible.' And we can only achieve 'Liberty and justice for all' if we live by that one rule at the heart of every religion, including Islam -- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us."