President Obama supports Muslims' constitutionally protected right to free exercise of religion

President Obama: “Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country.” While continuing the White House tradition of hosting an Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan, President Obama said of the planned Islamic community center in Manhattan:

Now, that's not to say that religion is without controversy. Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities -- particularly 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. And the pain and the experience of suffering by those who lost loved ones is just unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. And 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 everyone else in this country. (Applause.) And 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 that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the Founders must endure.

Right-wing media outlets immediately blasted Obama

Geller: President Obama “has, in effect, sided with the Islamic jihadists.” In an August 13 post to her Atlas Shrugs blog, Pamela Geller said:

Obama came out for the Islamic supremacist mosque at the hallowed ground of 911 attack. He has, in effect, sided with the Islamic jihadists and told the ummah (at an Iftar dinner on the third night of Ramadan, of course) that he believes in and supports a triumphal mosque on the cherished site of Islamic conquest.

If you had any doubt who Obama stood with on 911, there can be no doubt in our minds now.

I believe he planned it all along. He waited until Ramadan. Symbolic. He has now turned our Ground Zero protest on 911 into a mega-event. The very idea of a 15-story mega-mosque on hallowed ground in indecent, offensive and outrageous. If Imam Rauf and his wife Daisy really wanted to “reach out” and “heal,” they would give the $120 million to the first responders suffering from exposure to the toxic environment at Ground Zero after Muslim terrorists brought down the World Trade Center and slaughtered 3,000 Americans.

Is the president incapable of common decency?

Obama knows this is not about religious liberty. No one has suggested abridging the first amendment to stop the mosque. There are hundreds of mosques in New York, thousands in America. This is not a religious issue. This is a national security issue.

Once again, Obama puts himself directly at odds with the majority of the American people, as is his way and the hallmark of his presidency. This is all explained in detail in my book.

Big Peace: Obama “stands with shariah.” In an August 14 post on the website Big Peace, Center for Security Policy President Frank Gaffney wrote:

The most prominent American public figure to directly challenge such pap is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who, in remarks before the American Enterprise Institute last month, declared, “Stealth jihadis use political, cultural, societal, religious, intellectual tools; violent jihadis use violence. But in fact they're both engaged in jihad and they're both seeking to impose the same end state which is to replace Western civilization with a radical imposition of shariah.”

In a brilliant appreciation of Mr. Gingrich's address, Andrew McCarthy, an accomplished former federal prosecutor (he put away the ringleader of the first effort to destroy the World Trade Center, “the Blind Sheikh,” OmarAbdel-Rahman) and author of the superb New York Times bestseller, The Grand Jihad , wrote in National Review Online: “Henceforth, there should be no place to hide for any candidate, including any incumbent. The question will be: Where do you stand on shariah?”

For Barack Obama, the answer is now pretty clear: He stands with shariah.

New York Post headline: “Allah Right By Me.” The cover of today's edition of the New York Post displayed the following headline:

Drudge headline: “As-Salamu Alaykum.” On August 14, the Drudge Report displayed the following main headline on its webpage: