New York - The 9th anniversary of 9/11 was a spirited one in Lower Manhattan near the site of Ground Zero.
Both pro and anti rallies were held concerning the possible construction of an Islamic mosque about two blocks from where the World Trade Center towers once stood. While tensions were high, police everywhere, no violence or arrests were reported.
The several thousand pro mosque demonstration was billed as a "March Against Racism." It started at City Hall Park and went to the Federal building, about four blocks from Ground Zero. The marchers chanted "bigots go home" and "hey, hey, ho, ho, racism has got to go."
Protest organizer Sara Flounders said those on hand who support the building of the mosque came from the labor movements, immigrants' rights coalitions and clergy from synagogues, churches and mosques. "This," she said, "was a dynamic diversity of almost every community in New York calling for religious freedom for all and an end to the forces of bigotry."
Those against the mosque being built so close to Ground Zero called it a "desecration of hallowed ground."