Obama: I Never Changed Course on Mosque Remarks

President Obama said Monday the media see inconsistency in his remarks about a mosque near Ground Zero but there is none, adding that he has not changed direction on his views about building the Islamic community center in downtown New York City.

"I didn't walk it back at all," the president said of his first statement about the controversial mosque, made this month at a White House dinner to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"I was not endorsing any particular project. I was endorsing our Constitution, and what is right," Obama told NBC News in an interview held during the president's trip to New Orleans to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. "That is a core value of our Constitution. And my job as president is to make sure in part that we're upholding our Constitution."

The president was roundly accused of modifying his remarks at the Aug. 13 dinner in which he said he believes "Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone 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," he said. "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."

But the next day, the president expanded on his remarks, saying his comments were only directed at the constitutional question, not the decision to put the mosque in a location that has many aggrieved New Yorkers and others saying it is an insult to the memory of those killed on Sept. 11, 2001, in the worst attack ever on U.S. soil.

"I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there," he said in response to a reporter's question after he spoke about efforts to aid the Gulf Coast region. "I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about."

On Sunday, the president returned to his first message that freedom of religion applies to everyone in the United States.

"I think my statement at the Iftar dinner in the White House was very clear. And that is -- is that if you can build a church on that site, if you can build a synagogue on that site or a Hindu Temple on that site, then we can't treat people of the Islamic faith differently, who are Americans, who are American citizens," he said.

"I respect the feelings on the other side. And I would defend their right to express them just as fiercely," he added.