Go ahead: write tomorrow’s headlines tonight:
(Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Friday backed construction of a proposed mosque and Muslim cultural center near the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York — a project opposed by U.S. conservatives and many New Yorkers.
“As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country,” Obama said to applause at an event attended by diplomats from Islamic countries and members of the U.S. Muslim community.
“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,” he said, weighing in for the first time in a national debate that has grown increasingly heated in recent weeks.