ONTD_Political's PotD: August 24, 2010.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The proposed mosque near ground zero drew hundreds of fever-pitch demonstrators Sunday, with opponents carrying signs associating Islam with blood, supporters shouting, "Say no to racist fear!" and American flags waving on both sides. The two leaders of the construction project, meanwhile, defended their plans, though one suggested that organizers might eventually be willing to discuss an alternative site. The other, Imam Feisal 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. Around the corner from the cordoned-off old building that is to become a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque, police separated the two groups of demonstrators. There were no reports of physical clashes but there were some nose-to-nose confrontations, including a man and a woman screaming at each other across a barricade under a steady rain.
Protesters of opposing views for the Islamic center near ground zero exchange harsh words in downtown New York, Aug. 22, 2010.
New York Times / Ed Ou
Members of the Islamic community speak to one another during a rally held to support the mosque being built near the World Trade Center site in New York August 22, 2010. Supporters and opponents of a proposed Muslim cultural center and mosque near the World Trade Center site rallied in downtown Manhattan on Sunday, kept blocks apart by a heavy police presence.
REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi
Jacob Bledsoe, 9, of West Virginia, exchanges words of with a supporter of the Islamic center near ground zero in downtown New York, Aug. 22, 2010.
New York Times / Ed Ou
Police separate demonstrators, both against, left, and for the construction of an Islamic Center, August 22, 2010 near the World Trade Center in New York. The rally was held to oppose the construction of an Islamic Center and mosque near Ground Zero.
AFP/Getty Images / Don Emmert
Opponents of an Islamic cultural center and mosque planned to be built near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan gather during a demonstration on August 22, 2010 in New York, New York. Activists both for and against the proposed Park51 project two blocks from Ground Zero rallied supporters near the proposed building site as the controversy continued.
Getty Images / Chris Hondros
A policeman stands near a mannequin dressed in an Arab-style head scarf and perched atop a model of a missle, a display built by opponents of an Islamic cultural center and mosque planned near Ground Zero on August 22, 2010 in New York City.
Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Supporters of the mosque near ground zero protest near the proposed site for the center in New York, Aug. 22, 2010.
New York Times / Ed Ou
Demonstrators arrive on motorcycles to attend a rally with the Coalition to Honor Ground Zero August 22, 2010 in New York.
AFP/Getty Images / Don Emmert
Supporters of a Islamic cultural center and mosque planned to be built near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan chant slogans on August 22, 2010 in New York City.
Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Demonstrators arrive on motorcycles to attend a rally with the Coalition to Honor Ground Zero August 22, 2010 in New York.
AFP/Getty Images / Don Emmert
People debate outside of the building that is the proposed site of the Park51 mosque and cultural center, which is blocks from Ground Zero, on August 20, 2010 in New York City. The controversy surrounding the location of an Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero has escalated following comments last week by President Barack Obama to American Muslims that were interpreted as supportive. Despite polls showing national opposition to the center, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as well as other local politicians, community groups and prominent Jewish groups, have voiced their support for the center.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
People participate in a rally against a proposed mosque and Islamic community center near ground zero in New York, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010.
AP / Seth Wenig
Protesters with the NYC Coalition to Stop Islamophobia, rally near the proposed Islamic Center August 22, 2010 in New York.
AFP/Getty Images / Don Emmert
Gloria Richardson (L) and Melody Blanchard (R), both of Brooklyn, New York, clasp hands in support of an Islamic cultural center and mosque planned to be built near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan August 22, 2010 in New York City.
Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Opponents of an Islamic cultural center and mosque planned to be built near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan cheer a speaker during a demonstration on August 22, 2010 in New York City. Activists both for and against the proposed Park51 project two blocks from Ground Zero rallied supporters near the proposed building site as the controversy continued.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
A sign opposing the Islamic center near ground zero is left behind after a rally in New York, Aug. 22, 2010.
New York Times / Ed Ou
Barth Silberstein (2nd L) and Comrade Shahid (R) Supporters in favor of an Islamic cultural center and mosque clasp hands on August 22, 2010 in New York City.
Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Source Galleries:
- "Islamic Center" | DayLife
- "NYC mosque protests" | The Frame | SacBee.com