Washington - President Obama gave an emotional defense Friday of the right to practice Islam in the U.S. and build a controversial mosque near Ground Zero.
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"This country stands for the proposition that all men and women are created equal, that they have certain inalienable rights," Obama said, citing the Declaration of Independence. "One of those inalienable rights is to practice their religion freely.
"And what that means is that if you could build a church on a site, you could build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, then you should be able to build a mosque on the site."
"Now I recognize there are extraordinary sensibilities around 9/11," Obama added, but "we are not at war against Islam. We are at war against the terrorist organizations who have distorted Islam."
"We've got millions of Muslim-Americans, our fellow citizens, in this country," he reminded critics. "They're going to school with our kids. They're our neighbors. They're our friends. They're our coworkers.
"When we start acting as if their religion is somehow offensive, what are we saying to them?
Obama also noted that as commander-in-chief "I've got Muslims who are fighting in Afghanistan, in the uniform of the United States armed services. They're out there putting their lives on the line for us. And we've got to make sure that we are crystal clear for our sakes and their sakes: They are Americans, and we honor their service. And part of honoring their service is making sure that they understand that we don't differentiate between 'them' and 'us.' It's just 'us.'"
During the 77-minute press conference in the White House East Room, Obama did not address the attempt of Rev. Terry Jones, the flaky Florida minister who has threatened to burn Korans, to trade his agreement to back off on book-burning for a pledge to move the mosque to another location.
But Obama said he was acting to protect U.S. troops in giving the spotlight of Oval Office attention to Jones.
"We've got to take it seriously" when lives are at stake, said Obama, who reluctantly directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to phone Rev. Terry Jones.
Obama said he recognized Jones' threat as a publicity stunt, "but I'm also commander-in-chief and we're seeing today riots in Kabul, riots in Afghanistan."
The clear message had to be sent that Jones was "putting our young men and women in harm's way" while providing "the best imaginable recruiting tool for Al Qaeda."
"My hope is that this individual prays on it and refrains from doing it," Obama said of the Koran-burning threat.
"With respect to the individual down in Florida," Obama said, referring to Rev. Terry Jones, "the idea that we would burn the sacred texts of somebody else's religion is contrary to what this country stands for."
Obama's news conference mostly focused on the economy with an eye toward the November elections, where Democrats look to lose dozens of seats in Congress.
Repeatedly wielding class-warfare rhetoric criticizing tax breaks for "millionaires and billionaires," Obama defended his intent to let Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy expire and urged a "determined minority" of Republicans to stop "playing games" by blocking a small-business bill most Americans support.
"I know there's an election coming up, but the American people didn't send us here to think about our jobs," Obama said. "They sent us here to think about their jobs."
He danced around attempts to get him to use the politically-charged word "stimulus" in describing his new $50 billion public works proposal for roads, railroads and airports. Obama preferred "stimulate."
"I have no problem trying to stimulate growth," he said, adding that he assumed Republicans also wanted economic growth.
"I will keep on trying to stimulate growth and jobs as long as I'm President of the United States," he vowed.
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