NYC rallies draw mosque opponents, supporters

Competing rallies over a Muslim center and mosque near Ground Zero brought those who denounced the proposal within shouting distance of its supporters Sunday near the site of America's deadliest terrorist attack.

Despite intermittent rain, hundreds of protesters had gathered by late morning at two sites a few blocks apart in downtown Manhattan. At the larger rally, opponents of the proposed mosque filled two lanes of West Broadway near Park Place, waving American flags and signs that read "Sharia" - Islamic law - in type resembling dripping blood.

About 150 mosque supporters gathered blocks away, and as some of them neared the anti-mosque rally, tempers flared into occasional shouting matches. NYPD officials reported no arrests or injuries.

Steps from the proposed 13-story mosque and cultural center, speakers criticized Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Barack Obama for their defense of the center on the ground of religious freedom, saying the move would instead amount to capitulation to Islamic extremists.

Between speeches, loudspeakers blasted such songs as "God Bless America" and "Born in the U.S.A.," and the crowd chanted "No mosque here!"

Susan Jarema, 40, of Wantagh, wore an FDNY hat.

"We need to show them that even though we have freedom . . . we cannot forget the firemen and policemen" who died trying to save people in the World Trade Center, Jarema said. "They can move [the mosque] further east."

Brian Vanacore of Branford, Conn., said building a mosque so close to the World Trade Center site would desecrate the memory of his brother Edward, who was killed in the 9/11 attacks. "It's disrespectful to build a mosque so close to where my brother's ashes still are," said Vanacore, 45.

But David Canty, 46, of Brooklyn, who was at the smaller counter-protest, said he was there because, "I just feel that the Muslim community has a right to build . . . It's un-American for people to come together against it."

The proposal has provoked an intense national debate about balancing religious freedom and the legacy of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Proponents contend the government cannot restrict citizens' religious activities, while opponents say the location is insensitive to relatives of the more than 2,700 victims of 9/11 and a desecration of sacred ground.

At the counter-protest, at the corner of Murray and Church streets, Shakawat Ali, 43, of the Bronx, who said he worships at a nearby mosque, said he felt that politicians were using opposition to the center for political gain.

"The same thing happened in Germany pre-Holocaust, where politicians were manipulating people against people," he said. "My children and I are afraid . . . we'll be a scapegoat too."

When Javeria Shahab of Manhattan approached the opponents' rally with a poster that said "religious freedom = peace," police asked her to go to the other rally.

Shahab, 28, a descendant of Pakistanis born in the United States, said the center would effectively "curb extremism" by reaffirming the right to worship freely. "Our forefathers came here to flee persecution," said Shahab, noting that her brother is a veteran Army Ranger who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"American Muslims didn't commit this atrocity," she said of the terrorist attacks. For his part, Gene Williams, 56, of Merrick, an anti-mosque protester, said he had "nothing against Muslims and Islam." But, he added, "just be sensitive to what's going on here."