Bloomberg Calls Allowing Mosque Near Ground Zero 'Fighting Terror With Freedom'

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, facing pressure for backing a controversial Muslim community center and mosque planned near Ground Zero, doubled down in his support for the project on Tuesday, saying that not allowing it would be "compromising our commitment to fighting terror with freedom."

Bloomberg has been an outspoken defender of the project on freedom of religion grounds, though critics say building a mosque so close to the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks -- carried out by extremists in the name of Islam -- is at best insensitive.

The mayor made his latest comments in an impassioned speech at a dinner in observance of Iftar, the daily meal in which Muslims break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

Bloomberg says a compromise wouldn't end the debate. He says the question would then become "how big should the no-mosque zone around the World Trade Center site be?"

Critics of the mosque have raised concerns about the imam at the center of the project. They note that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who has described himself as a bridge builder across religious divides, refused in a recent radio interview to directly condemn Hamas and said in a 2001 TV interview that U.S. foreign policy was an "accessory to the crime" of the 9/11 attacks, though he also has condemned terrorism and fanaticism, saying they have no part in Islam.

And during a 2005 conference in Australia, he compared America to Al Qaeda.

"We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands than Al Qaeda has on its hands of innocent non-Muslims," Rauf said, speaking at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Center during a question and answer session dedicated to what sponsors say was a dialogue to improve relations between America and the Muslim world. "You may remember that the U.S.-led sanctions against Iraq led to the death of over half a million Iraqi children. This has been documented by the United Nations."

Rauf is on a Mideast trip funded by the U.S. State Department, which suggested Tuesday that Rauf's comments were taken out of context.

"We are aware of those remarks," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. "I would just caution any of you that choose to write on this that once again you have a case where a blogger has pulled out one passage from a very lengthy speech, if you read the entire speech, you will discover exactly why we think he is rightfully participating in this international speaking tour."

Earlier Tuesday, two days after tempers flared in a pair of dueling protests near the project site, Roman Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan said that New Yorkers share values of tolerance and unity but he's worried those values are at risk.

"We're just a little bit apprehensive that these noble values may be a bit at risk in this way the conversation and debate about the site of the mosque is taking place," Dolan said after a meeting with Gov. David Paterson .

Paterson wants mosque leaders to consider an alternative location. Mosque supporters say religious freedom should be protected.

Dolan said both sides of the debate have legitimate stances.

"I sure don't have strong feelings on where the mosque should ultimately be," he said

Bloomberg, in his comments Tuesday, warned against linking all Muslims with the terrorists who attacked on Sept. 11.

"Islam did not attack the World Trade Center -- Al-Qaeda did," he said. "To implicate all of Islam for the actions of a few who twisted a great religion is unfair and un-American. Today we are not at war with Islam -- we are at war with Al-Qaeda and other extremists who hate freedom."

Rauf alluded to the controversy at a dinner Sunday night for student leaders at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Manama, Bahrain.

"The fact we are getting this kind of attention is a sign of success," he said.

"It is my hope that people will understand more. ... This is something we are doing for your generation."

Rauf also thanked President Obama, who has said Muslims had the right to practice their religion and build the Islamic center in lower Manhattan. The president later said he wasn't endorsing the specifics of the plan.

"I'm grateful to President Obama for his support for the project," said Rauf.

The White House on Tuesday said that Obama would have no further comment on the issue and that the administration will not get involved in talks about relocating the facility. Republicans have vowed to make Obama's supportive comments a campaign issue in this fall's midterm elections.

Rauf, who has rarely spoken publicly about the project, said that he was leery of the media and that they are portraying a negative image of Muslims to the West. He also said he doesn't like Muslims portraying a bad image of the West to the Muslim world.

He said in an interview published Tuesday by the daily Bahraini newspaper Akhbar Al-Khaleej that the media had "succeeded in portraying stereotypical images, focusing on the negative and criticizing the other. ... We should be self-critical instead of focusing on criticizing the other."

Fox News' Eric Shawn and the Associated Press contributed to this report.