President Barack Obama has 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 US 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 US 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.

Earlier this month a New York city agency cleared the way for construction of the community center, which will include a prayer room, two blocks from the site of the Sept 11 attacks, popularly known as 'Ground Zero.'

'This is America and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable,' said Obama, who has made improving ties between the US and the Muslim world a cornerstone of his foreign policy.

Obama was speaking during an Iftar dinner he hosted at the White House. Iftar is the evening meal when Muslims break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

Many families of those killed in the attacks have mounted an emotional campaign to block the community center, calling it provocative and a betrayal of the memory of the victims.

Conservative politicians such as former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, a Republican former Speaker of the House of Representatives, also have called for the project to be scrapped.

Obama weighs in   

In his remarks on Friday, Obama preached the need for religious tolerance and noted that the First Amendment of the US Constitution had established the freedom of religion, 'and that right has been upheld ever since.'

The president also stressed that al Qaeda was not synonymous with Islam.

'Al Qaeda's cause is not Islam -- it is a gross distortion of Islam,' he said. 'These are not religious leaders -- these are terrorists who murder innocent men, women and children.'

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has firmly supported the community center project as have many religious organizations in the city. However, 53 percent of New Yorkers oppose it, according to a Marist Poll this week.

The Cordoba House community center is the brainchild of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who told Reuters in an interview last month that he had modeled it on the Young Men's Christian Association.

Now simply called the Y, YMCA facilities across the US offer exercise classes, education and community activities.

The city agency's Aug. 3 ruling is expected to clear the way for construction of Cordoba House, which will include a 500-seat auditorium, art exhibition spaces and a swimming pool as part of a 13-story complex.

Since coming into office, Obama, a Democrat, has worked to reach out to Muslims, many of whom felt targeted by the 'war on terror' and by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In a speech in Cairo in June 2009, Obama called for a 'new beginning' in ties between the US and Muslims, saying extremists had exploited tensions between Muslims and the West and that Islam was not part of the problem. – Reuters