Ground Zero mosque row

US president Barack Obama is not new to smear campaign. During his presidential election campaign he faced worst kind of smear campaign due to the colour of his skin and faith of his father. Time and again the American people were told that this man cannot be trusted because he is a closet Muslim and being a Muslim means he could be close to terrorists. That time former US army chief and once considered to be first potential African-American president, Colin Powell, came out in support of Obama, saying what is wrong if he is a Muslim because America was never like that before. In fact, all the Americans were proud of what they called a "melting pot of cultures".

So what is wrong when the American president says that Muslims "have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country," including by building a mosque in lower Manhattan. During an Iftar dinner hosted at the White House, President Obama said: "This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the founders must endure."

Within hours of this statement, Republicans launched a ferocious campaign against Obama, forcing him to backtrack by saying: "I was not commenting, and I will not comment, on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there."

Republicans, with an eye on the mid-term elections, claim that a mosque and a cultural centre near Ground Zero would hurt the sentiments of families whose kin were killed in 9/11 attacks. First thing they should know that the mosque and cultural centre has nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. In this regard, the best comment came from Congressman Jerry Nadler, who said: "al-Qaeda attacked us. Islam did not attack us."

The right-wing TV and radio talk show hosts, who have joined the Republicans, seem to forget that Islamophobia may get them some votes but they're not aware that this campaign will send a wrong picture of America across the world. America is known all over the world for its religious freedom and tolerance. They should know that former President George W Bush's war on terror has already made America the most unpopular country in the Muslim world. The more Republicans wipe up vitriolic campaign against the mosque, the more it will portray that America is against Islam. The campaign against the mosque has portends of the right-wing Swiss drive against minarets. In the case of Switzerland, minaret which is a symbol of architecture or structural design was used by right-wing politicians as a symbol to further their political cause. But in the process they dealt a huge blow to the reputation of the Swiss society which is known for its peace-loving and all-welcoming nature.

President Obama from day one has tried to repair the damage done to the US ties with the Muslim world by Bush's "war on terror". Many had warned that this policy of aggressively pursuing rapprochement with the Muslim world may hurt him domestically and Republicans are precisely trying to do that.