President Barack Obama will speak up for religious freedom at a dinner celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan Copyright 2010 AP WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday, August 13, will speak up for religious freedom at a dinner celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, emphasizing that point just as New York City is immersed in a deeply sensitive debate about whether a mosque should be built near the site of the World Trade Center's twin towers.

Obama has not spoken about the mosque controversy. The White House has been calling the matter solely a local one.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs would not directly say whether Obama would address the mosque when he hosts the iftar dinner that breaks the holy month's daily fast. But Gibbs quickly added that Obama believes strongly in religious freedom and would be speaking out on that.

The planned mosque's location has touched off a huge debate in New York.