As Americans paid homage to the victims of the 9/11 attacks,the controversial plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero,the site of the terror strikes,has drawn mixed reactions from people here with thousands of them,including Indian-Americans,staging rallies both in protest and support of the proposal. Narain Kataria,who organised a gathering of Indian-Americans' against the planned mosque on the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks on Saturday,gave the "dubious sources" of funding as one of the main reasons for his opposition. Several polls have indicated that a majority of Americans oppose the mosque in its proposed location,two blocks away from the World Trade Centre. Even as the Muslims have the constitutional right to build a mosque in that spot,a large group of people insist that it is "insensitive." "What is more important.legality or sensitivity," said Sucheta Arya,originally from New Delhi who now lives here. "I am supporting the Americans who want this mosque to be shifted." Sharad Thakur,a software engineer from Mumbai who recently shifted to New York,also voiced his opposition to the mosque proposal. An estimated 150 Indian-Americans showed up to say "no," according to organisers. Thousands of other anti-mosque protesters also blasted President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for their support of the Islamic Centre at the site. "Wake up America," said a speaker,who belonged to the Coptic Christian Church in Egypt,while another one cried "Just because you can do something doesn't make it right." Joining the Indian-American protesters,Revered Samuel Samson,who is from Rawalpindi in Pakistan,said "it was a big slap on the best country of the world." "Freedom of religion is one thing,destroying the religion is another," he said. On the other hand,a large number of New Yorkers,who are proud of the unique diversity of their city,have welcomed the construction of the Muslim Community Centre in the neighbourhood. "We are for it," Mary Perillo,who has lived in the area for 27 years,said at a pro-mosque rally. "We want the community centre,we are about inclusion.why are we New Yorkers because we like to be around people from all over the world," Perillo said. "I want a community centre,which I can go to and take a cooking class," she said to a cheering crowd.
