US president Barack Obama's support for the right to build a mosque just blocks from Ground Zero poured fuel on a raging debate over religious freedom and sensitivities over the September 11 terrorist strikes.
Muslims "have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country", Mr Obama said at an Iftar meal at the White House for Muslims breaking their Ramadan fast on Friday.
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".
Mr Obama had remained silent over plans to build an Islamic cultural centre, which includes a mosque, two blocks away from the gaping Ground Zero hole where the Twin Towers were destroyed.
But after a New York city commission on August 3 unanimously approved the plans, the president came out to support the right to build the mosque.
"This is America ," Mr Obama said, "and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."
Mr Obama acknowledged the site where the World Trade Centre towers once stood remains "hallowed ground" and that the September 11 terrorist attacks "were a deeply traumatic event for our country".
Planners say the multi-storey Cordoba House will include a mosque, sports facilities, theatre and restaurant and would be open to the public to show that Muslims are full community members.
The group 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America, which represents some relatives of attack victims, said it was "stunned" by the president's remarks.
Mr Obama "has abandoned America at the place where America 's heart was broken nine years ago and where her true values were on display for all to see", the group said.
Building the mosque "is a deliberately provocative act that will precipitate more bloodshed in the name of Allah".
This president "declares that the victims of 9/11 and their families must... stand silent at the last place in America where 9/11 is still remembered with reverence or risk being called religious bigots", it added.
Another group representing other relatives of 9/11 victims, the September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, said in May that it "strongly supports" the Islamic centre.
The proposed location has touched raw nerves - and on Saturday Mr Obama clarified that he was not addressing the appropriateness of the mosque's particular location.
"I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there," Mr Obama said on a visit to Florida .
"I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about," he said.
A CNN/Opinion Research poll earlier this month showed that 68 per cent of Americans opposed the Islamic centre plans while only 29 per cent favoured them.
Mr Obama himself is a Christian, but according to a Harris Interactive online poll from March nearly one-third of Americans, including 57 per cent of Republicans, believe he is a Muslim.
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