Rallies Over Ground Zero Mosque Grow Very Heated

Today, the proposed "mosque" near ground zero drew hundreds of fever-pitch demonstrators. The opponents were carrying signs associating Islam with blood, supporters were shouting, "Say no to racist fear!" As well, several hundred people were standing by chanting, "Muslims are welcome here. We say no to racist fear."

The rally got pretty intense on both sides. There are two things that a lot of people don't realize.

1. It's not specifically a mosque that is going to be built. Rather, it's a Muslim Community Center, similar to the nearby Jewish Community Center. It's going to have a 500-seat auditorium, basketball courts, a swimming pool and, of course a prayer space.

2. It's not right in ground zero. First of all, it's two blocks away, and it takes at least two and a half minutes to walk from the site of the September 11 attacks to the location where the community center will be built.

Protesters of the community center stood behind police barricades reading "SHARIA" - using dripping, blood-red letters. Islam's Shariah law governs the behavior of Muslims.

Protesters are using anything that they can as ammunition against the community center.

The two leaders of the construction project defend their plans, however, they will not make any major decisions until they have spoken with all the stake holders and have discussed it further.

Continue reading on the next page.


The mosque/community center project is led by Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife, Daisy Khan. They insist that the center will promote moderate Islam.

The dispute over this community center project has sparked a nationwide debate on religious freedom and American values. It is even becoming an issue on the campaign trail ahead of the midterm elections.

Republicans have been critical of President Barack Obama's stance: He has said that the Muslims have the right to build the center at the site, however, he has not commented on whether he thinks they should.

It's good that he is not taking sides because that would just cause more antagonism on both sides.