Barack Obama, the US president, has backed a proposed mosque and Islamic community centre near the site of the former World Trade Centre in New York that was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.
He said the country's founding principles demanded no less for the project which has sparked debate around the country.
For several weeks, opponents of the plan in New York City have publicly protested against it claiming “it is an insult” to the memory of nearly 3,000 people who died in the 2001 attacks.
Obama gave his support to the mosque during an annual White House dinner marking the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, weighing in on the controversy for the first time.
"Let me be clear. As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country," he said.
"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.
"This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable," Obama added.
Respecting differences
The White House had not previously taken a stand on the mosque, which would be part of a $100m Islamic centre two blocks from what has become known as Ground Zero.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent who has been a strong supporter of the mosque project, welcomed Obama's words as a "clarion defense of the freedom of religion".
But top Republicans including Sarah Palin, the former vice-presidential candidate, and Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, have already announced their opposition.
The Cordoba Initiative, the group behind the project, describes it as a Muslim-themed community centre with a view of making it a hub for interfaith interaction.
The mosque has won approval from local planning boards but faces legal challenges.
Opponents, including some relatives of the victims of the September 11 attacks, see the prospect of a mosque so near the destroyed trade centre as “an insult to the memory of those killed”. Some of the victims' relatives, however, are in favor.
PHOTO CAPTION
The former Burlington Coat Factory building that will make way for the "Ground Zero Mosque" is seen in lower Manhattan.
Al-Jazeera