More Protests Over Proposed Mosque Near WTC

Two demonstrations, one for and one against the proposed construction of a Muslim community center two blocks away from the World Trade Center site, took to the streets of Manhattan’s financial district Sunday afternoon.  

 

A few hundred opponents of the project, some of whom were wearing construction hard hats,various tri-state area firefighter t-shirts and motorcycle club vests, marched two blocks down West Broadway brandishing posters and signs until they reached police barriers outside Ground Zero. They carried a wide variety of signs, some emphasizing sensitivity and respect for the victims of 9/11 , others linking Muslims to Nazis, depicting the Mosque leader Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf as a terrorist supporter and linking Islam to Osama bin Laden.

 

Demonstrators chanted  “Sharia no, Freedom yes” and “No Mosque Here”, and a few even tried to start a “No more 44’” chant but received a half hearted response. The rally was for the most part peaceful, and although a few heated arguments broke out in the crowd, they were quickly broken up by other protesters.