WASHINGTON — The Senate’s top Democrat on Monday came out against plans to build a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, moving away from President Barack Obama on the controversial election-year issue.
Locked in a tight race, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid became the highest profile Democrat to respond to Obama, who last week backed the right for the developers to build a mosque near ground zero.
Since his comments Friday, the Democratic president and his aides have worked to explain the statement, which drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.
“The First Amendment protects freedom of religion,” said Jim Manley, a Reid spokesman. “Sen. Reid respects that, but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else.”
Critics have said the location of the mosque is insensitive because the terrorists who struck two blocks away were Islamic extremists.
While insisting that the place where the twin towers once stood was indeed “hallowed ground,” Obama said the proper way to honor it was to apply American values at the nearby property. The Associated Press
