Obama endorses building of Cordoba House, The Raw Story, August 13, 2010, by Muriel Kane, used with permission, quoted verbatim:

UPDATED below:

According to prepared remarks released by the White House, President Obama will support the building of Cordoba House — the Islamic community center loosely described as a “Ground Zero mosque” — during a dinner tonight celebrating the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The event, known as an Iftar dinner, marks the breaking of the daytime fast that observant Muslims are required to perform during this month. The guest list includes Muslim diplomats and representatives of community groups, as well as both Muslim and non-Muslim members of the administration and Congress.

In his remarks, Obama is expected to tell his guests, “Here at the White House, we have a tradition of hosting iftars that goes back several years, just as we host Christmas parties, seders, and Diwali celebrations. These events celebrate the role of faith in the lives of the American people. They remind us of the basic truth that we are all children of God, and we all draw strength and a sense of purpose from our beliefs. These events are also an affirmation of who we are as Americans.”

Obama then goes on to address the current controversy, saying:

Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities – particularly in New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. The pain and suffering experienced by those who lost loved ones is unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground.

But 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. 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 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. The writ of our Founders must endure. …

In my inaugural address, I said that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth. That diversity can bring difficult debates. Indeed, past eras have seen controversies about the construction of synagogues or Catholic churches. But time and again, the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues, stay true to our core values, and emerge stronger for it. So it must be – and will be – today.

Tonight, we are reminded that Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity. And Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been part of America. The first Muslim ambassador to the United States, from Tunisia, was hosted by President Jefferson, who arranged a sunset dinner for his guest because it was Ramadan—making it the first known iftar at the White House, more than 200 years ago.

A few days ago, Obama was being criticized for his reluctance to weigh in on the issue, with press secretary Robert Gibbs describing it as a local New York City matter. Adam Sorensen at Time, however, suggested that “maybe he’s passing on the Cordoba House debate because it’s just too hot an issue at a sensitive political moment. Afterall, Democrats are bracing for a rough November. Maybe he’s just hoping not to reignite that whole “Barack Hussein Obama is an Undercover Imam” thing. (Just in case: He’s not.) But maybe, just maybe, Obama is biding his time for the right moment.”

Now that the “right moment” has arrived, Greg Sargent at the Washington Post believes that Obama may have incited a battle with the right, writing, “The foes of the Islamic center have been trying to drag Obama into this debate, and some have urged Obama to avoid wading into it. But now he has, and crucially, he’s suggested that not standing up for the group’s right to build the Islamic center is, in essence, un-American. I look forward to the response from the project’s opponents.”

See Obama Strongly Backs Islam Center Near 9/11 Site, The New York Times, August 13, 2010, by Sheryl Gay Stolberg.

N.Y. Times Update: Obama Says Mosque Upholds Principle of Equal Treatment, The New York Times, August 14, 2010, by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, excerpt quoted verbatim:

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — President Obama said on Saturday that in defending the right of Muslims to build a community center and mosque near Ground Zero he “was not commenting” on “the wisdom” of that particular project, but rather trying to uphold the broader principle that government should treat “everyone equal, regardless” of religion.

Mr. Obama, who is visiting the Gulf Coast with his wife and younger daughter for a brief overnight stay, made his comments at the Coast Guard district station here. On Friday night, he used the White House iftar, a sunset dinner celebrating the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, to weigh in on the mosque controversy. In clarifying his remarks, Mr. Obama was apparently seeking to address criticism that he is using his presidential platform to promote a particular project that has aroused the ire of many New Yorkers. And on Saturday at least three prominent Republicans spoke out against Mr. Obama’s stance.

White House officials said earlier in the day that Mr. Obama was not trying to promote the project, but rather sought more broadly to make a statement about freedom of religion and American values. “In this country we treat everybody equally and in accordance with the law, regardless of race, regardless of religion,” Mr. Obama said at the Coast Guard station. “I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That’s what our country is about.

“And I think it’s very important as difficult as some of these issues are that we stay focused on who we are as a people and what our values are all about.”

At the dinner on Friday night, Mr. Obama had proclaimed that “as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country.”

But the day after the dinner, John Boehner, the Ohio Republican who is the House minority leader, was among those who criticized the president.

See Obama narrows mosque defense, Politico, August 14, 2010, by Ben Smith, quoted verbatim:

Speaking to reporters today, President Obama drew a sharp line under his comments last night, insisting that his defense of the right to build a mosque does not mean he supports the project.

“I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding,” he said.

Obama’s new stance is logically consistent with his words last night, if a bit less “clarion,” as Mike Bloomberg called the first remarks. And there are certainly two possible stances here: Bloomberg’s, that the Cordoba project itself represents the best of America; and Obama’s, that the freedom of religion is an important American value.

Obama’s new remarks, literally speaking, re-open the question of which side he’s on. Most of the mosque’s foes recognize the legal right to build, and have asked the builders to reconsider.

But the clarification is, in political terms, puzzling. The signal Obama sent with his rhetoric last night wasn’t that he had chosen to make a trivial, legal point about the First Amendment. He chose to make headlines in support of the mosque project, and he won’t be able to walk them back now with this sprinkling of doubt. All he’ll do is frustrate some of the people who so eagerly welcomed his words yesterday as a return to form.

Comment by Paul Evans: Or else he was simply trying to blunt the rage of the 41 percent of the GOP who consider themselves birthers. Something like that. Obama makes perfect sense here, doesn’t he?

See
Marco Rubio, Charlie Crist Disagree Over Ground Zero Mosque, Politics Daily, August 14, 2010, by Matt Lewis.

See Obama Speaks Out On Mosque Controversy: “Our Commitment To Religious Freedom Must Be Unshakeable”, Truthout, August 14, 2010, by Faiz Shakir: Oh Yeah Teabaggers, this means he’s Definitely a secret Muslim. Brilliant.

UPDATE from Twitter: See Obama ‘not commenting on wisdom’ of controversial Islamic center, CNN, August 14, 2010, by CNN Wire Staff.

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