Hundreds oppose mosque at site near Ground Zero

In a sea of red, white and blue, more than 350 demonstrators chanted and protested at a rally Sunday against the opening of a mosque at the doorstep of Ground Zero, claiming it would be "disrespectful and insensitive" to those who died on 9/11.

Protesters held their rally on the corner of Liberty and Church streets, where the families of 9/11 victims gather each year to remember those lost in the World Trade Center attacks.

Demonstrators came from across the tri-state area to protest the opening of the mosque, which will be operated by the Manhattan-based Cordoba Initiative. The organization plans to build a cultural center for interfaith programs and to accommodate about 2,000 worshipers.

Mosque opponent Nancy Nee, the sister of fallen firefighter George Cain, said, "I feel good to see all this support. I'm not against the religion, but to bring a mosque down here is disrespectful and insensitive."

Sharif El-Gamal of Soho Properties, a member of the mosque who bought the building on Park Place for the mosque for $4.85 million, attended the rally as a spectator, but declined to comment.

The mosque is not slated to open for another 18 months to three years and officials estimate it will cost about $100 million. Since plans to build the mosque in March were announced, opponents have vowed to stop it from opening.

Mosque officials have described it as progressive with an aim to build dialogue between Muslims and other faiths. Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf said at a recent community board meeting that American Muslims suffered at Ground Zero and also were first responders after Sept. 11.

Those at Sunday's event were not convinced.

Michael Simons, 47, a retired Port Authority detective who for a time was buried in the rubble of Tower Two, said, "It saddens me that they want to build a mega mosque here. We lost people from 70 countries here. Where is the respect for the dead? I am here to give the dead a voice."

Pamela Geller, director of Stop the Islamization of America, which organized the rally, wondered aloud to the gathered crowd about where the money came from to build the facility.

"Who is paying for this mosque? Did it come from the same blood-tainted hands that supported 9/11?" Geller asked.