New York: The proposed building of a mosque near the Ground Zero site in New York drew hundreds of angry demonstrators on Sunday, some carrying signs associating Islam with blood and others shouting, “Say no to racist fear".
The two leaders of the controversial construction project, meanwhile, defended their plans, though one suggested that organisers might eventually be willing to discuss an alternative site. The other, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, said during a Middle East trip, that the attention generated by the project is actually positive and that he hopes it will bring greater understanding of Islam.
Around the corner from the cordoned-off old building, which is to become a 13-story Islamic community centre and a mosque, police separated the two groups of demonstrators. Signs hoisted by dozens of protesters standing behind police barricades read ‘SHARIA’ using dripping, blood-red letters to describe Islam's Shariah law.
Opponents of the $100 million (Dh367.30 million) project, two blocks from the World Trade Centre site, appeared to outnumber supporters. Bruce Springsteen's ‘Born in the USA’ blared over loudspeakers as mosque opponents chanted, ‘No mosque, no way!’ There were no reports of physical clashes, but there were some face-to-face confrontations, including a man and a woman screaming at each other across a barricade under a down-pour of rain.
Steve Ayling, a 40-year-old Brooklyn plumber, who carried his sign to a dry spot, beside an office building, described the people behind the mosque project as "the same people who took down the twin towers”.
Opponents are demanding that the mosque be moved further from the site where more than 2,700 people were killed on September 11, 2001. "They should put it in the Middle East," Ayling said.
Meanwhile, on a nearby footpath, police chased away a group carrying a banner with images of torture they said was committed by those who follow Islamic law.
A mannequin dressed in a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headdress, was mounted on one of two mock missiles that were part of an anti-mosque installation. One missile was inscribed with the words: ‘Again? Freedom Targeted by Religion’, the other with ‘Obama: With a middle name Hussain. We understand. Bloomberg: What is your excuse?’
However, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has fiercely defended plans for the proposed mosque, saying that the right, "to practice your religion was one of the real reasons America was founded”.
The mosque project is being led by Rauf and his wife, Daisy Khan, who insist it will promote moderate Islam. The dispute has sparked a national debate on religious freedom and American values and is becoming an issue on the campaign trail, ahead of the midterm elections. Republicans have been critical of President Barack Obama's stance. He says the Muslims have a right to build the centre at the site, but has not said whether he thinks they should.
Audio: Malak Harb reports on rival protests held at Ground Zero mosque site
Rauf is in the middle of a trip to the Middle East, funded by the US State Department, intended to promote religious tolerance. He told a gathering on Sunday at the US ambassador's residence in Bahrain, that he took heart from the dispute, saying, "the fact we are getting this kind of attention is a sign of success”.
"It is my hope that people will understand more," he said, without elaborating.
Democratic New York Governor David Paterson has suggested that state land, farther from Ground Zero, be used for the centre. Daisy Khan, Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, seemed open to that idea when she appeared on ABC's ‘This Week with Christiane Amanpour’, but said she would have to meet with the centres other stakeholders first.
"We want to build bridges," Khan said. "We don't want to create conflict; this is not where we were coming from. So, this is an opportunity for us to really turn this around and make this into something very, very positive. So we will meet, and we will do what is right for everyone."
She added that the angry reaction to the project was “like a metastasised anti-Semitism.”“It's not even Islamophobia. It's beyond Islamophobia," she said. "It's hate of Muslims."
