Matthew 6:21

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

President Obama hosted an iftar, the special evening meal observed during Ramadan, last night in the White House dining room.

Obama participated in a similar gathering last year.

Obama wrote in a statement Wednesday:

Celebrations like iftar dinners “remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings,” .

Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality … a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country.

At the dinner Friday night, President Barack Hussein Obama (Peace be upon him) dispelled all doubt as to where he stood on one of the hottest subjects in America as he forcefully endorsed building a mosque near ground zero, saying the country’s founding principles demanded no less:

As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country.

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.  This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable.

Republicans responded quickly to the president’s remarks.   Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y said:

President Obama is wrong.  It is insensitive and uncaring for the Muslim community to build a mosque in the shadow of ground zero. While the Muslim community has the right to build the mosque they are abusing that right by needlessly offending so many people who have suffered so much.

The White House had been silent on the subject of the mosque, which would be part of a $100 million Islamic center to be built next to the site where nearly 3,000 people were murdered when hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Press secretary Robert Gibbs had deflected the subject as a local matter.

It was already a national issue, sparking debate around the country as top Republicans including Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich spoke out against it.   So did the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group.

Obama made it a presidential issue Friday in no uncertain terms.

While insisting that the place where the twin towers once stood was indeed “hallowed ground,” Obama said that the proper way to honor it was to apply American values:

Our capacity to show not merely tolerance, but respect to those who are different from us — a way of life that stands in stark contrast to the nihilism of those who attacked us on that September morning, and who continue to plot against us today.

On the precipice of a Mid-term Election political massacre of Democratic politicians , Obama surely knew that his words would not only make U.S. headlines but would reach Muslims worldwide. The president has made it his mission to reach out to the global Muslim community, and guests at Friday’s dinner included ambassadors and officials from numerous Muslim nations, including Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

While his pronouncement concerning the mosque may win him some new friends in the Muslim world, Obama, once again, holds a view contrary to the view of the majority of the people that he is supposed to be the leader of.   A CNN/Opinion Research poll released this week found that nearly 70 percent of Americans opposed the mosque plan while just 29 percent approved.

A number of Democratic politicians have run away from the mosque controversy like bachelors on Sadie Hawkins Day.  New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has been a strong supporter of the mosque, which has won approval from Liberal-stacked local planning boards.

The group behind the $100 million project, the Cordoba Initiative, describes it as a Muslim-themed community center.  Announced plans call not only for prayer space but for a swimming pool, culinary school, art studios and other features. The mosque group claims it will be a hub for interfaith interaction, as well as a place for Muslims to bridge some of their faith’s own schisms.

As I reported on Wednesday, the imam behind the proposed Islamic Victory Monument known as the Ground Zero Mosque Ground Zero is going on a multi-country jaunt to the Middle East funded by taxpayer dollars through the State Department.  Americans are rightly concerned that he will be using our money to raise the money he needs to build the $100,000,000 mosque. 

According to a State Department announcement that was given on Monday, Feisal Abdul Rauf is taking the publicly funded trip to foster “greater understanding” about Islam and Muslim communities in the United States.  Yeah, right. 

When asked about the trip, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said:

He is a distinguished Muslim cleric.  I think we are in the process of arranging for him to travel as part of this program, and it is to foster a greater understanding about the region around the world among Muslim-majority communities.

Crowley said no fund-raising for the mosque and cultural center during the trip would be permitted:

That would not be something he could do as part of our program.

However, Rauf is scheduled to make stops in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar, Islamic countries with deep pockets.

And now we know why Obama sent him.

The mask is off now.  Remember when Scooter slipped and said:

All the Liberals defended him by saying that he was being sarcastic in that interview.  I wonder what their defense of last night will be?  And how quickly will all the Democratic politicians seeking office in the Mid-terms distance themselves from their President?  Is Obama really so naive as to not realize that Islam is not just a faith, but a political ideology as well?

Most importantly, given the documented history of this Imam and the group behind this mosque, has this 60’s Radical excuse for a president just publicly supported and emboldened the enemies of America?

All sources of information in the preceding blog are embedded.