美国总统奥巴马重申，他认为穆斯林有权在纽约9/11恐怖袭击遗址附近修建清真寺。
奥巴马星期五在记者会上说，美国人不可剥夺的宗教自由权意味着，如果可以在一个地方修建教堂或其他宗教场所，那么就可以在那里建造清真寺。
批评人士说，计划在原世贸中心附近建造伊斯兰文化中心是对9/11遇难者的不敬。
奥巴马说，他知道基地组织制造的9/11恐怖袭击极为敏感。但是他强调，美国并没有与伊斯兰交战，而是在跟“扭曲”、或者“冒用”伊斯兰宗教进行恐怖活动的恐怖主义组织作战。
他说，美国必须清楚谁是自己的敌人，决不能对信仰伊斯兰的美国人和其他信仰的美国人区别对待。
U.S. President Barack Obama has reiterated his belief that Muslims have the right to build a mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York.
Mr. Obama told a news conference Friday that Americans’ inalienable right to freedom of religion means that if you can build a church or other place of worship on a particular site, you should be able to build a mosque.
Critics have said the proposal for an Islamic cultural center near the site where the World Trade Center towers once stood is disrespectful to the victims of the September 11 attacks.
Mr. Obama said he recognizes the extraordinary sensitivities about the coordinated September 11 assaults by al-Qaida. But he stressed that the United States is not at war with Islam, but at war against terrorist organizations that have, in his words, “distorted Islam” or “falsely used” Islam to engage in destructive acts.
He said the United States must be clear about who the enemy is and must not differentiate between Muslim-Americans and Americans who practice other religions.