The results came days after the US president waded into a bitter dispute over controversial plans to build a mosque near the Ground Zero site of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

Speaking at an iftar dinner held at the White House last Friday to mark the breaking of the Ramadan fast, Mr Obama, a practising Christian, weighed in on the "local" issue, affirming the right to build on the grounds of religious freedom, though on Saturday he appeared to backtrack, saying he had not been taking a stand on the "wisdom" of doing so.

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