In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, President Obama defended his position on the Ground Zero mosque. “I was not endorsing any particular project,” he said, addressing his comments from earlier this month. “I was endorsing our Constitution. And what is right.”
“If you can build a church on that site, if you can build a synagogue on that site or a Hindu temple on that site, then we can’t treat people of the Islamic faith differently, who are Americans, who are American citizens,” Obama said. “That is central to who we are.”
Obama used the example of Muslims serving in the U.S. military to support his argument. “How can you say to them that somehow their religious faith is less worthy of respect under our constitution and our system of government?” he asked. “That’s something I feel very strongly about.”
The president also said that he respected those on the other side of the debate: “I would defend their right to express [their views] just as fiercely.”