Nearly one-fifth of Americans believe Barack Obama is Muslim, according to a poll conducted even before the President waded into a row over the building of a faith centre and mosque near Ground Zero in New York. Among all voters, 18 per cent said they believed the president to be of Muslim faith, according to one of the country's most prestigious polling organisations, the Pew Research Centre.

But the numbers are worse if restricted to voters who oppose Mr Obama, who last week defended the rights of Muslims to worship where they want in America. Among Republicans, 31 per cent shared the view he was a Muslim, up from 19 per cent when the same questions were asked in March this year.

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