NEW YORK — Richie Mitzner of Fort Lee revved up his motorcycle and headed for Ground Zero on Sunday to proudly declare himself an "American Infidel."
Some of the protesters, above, at Ground Zero on Sunday carried placards decrying plans for a mosque two blocks away. At right, Richie Mitzner of Fort Lee boasted of being a 'proud American infidel.'
STAFF PHOTOS BY CHRIS PEDOTA
Some of the protesters, above, at Ground Zero on Sunday carried placards decrying plans for a mosque two blocks away. At right, Richie Mitzner of Fort Lee boasted of being a 'proud American infidel.'
He was not joking.
As a hot, humid wind blew off New York Harbor, Mitzner joined some 500 others to stir up a rhetorical whirlwind of protest against a proposal to build a mosque and Islamic cultural center near the site of America's bloodiest terror attack.
Unfortunately, this is what Ground Zero has now become — a scene of protests.
In the nine years since that September morning when radical Islamic jihadists flew hijacked jetliners into the World Trade Center and killed almost 2,800 people, we have watched Ground Zero go from a smoking pile of rubble to a grim recovery of body parts to a politicized debate over how many office towers to build to this — a battle over a house of worship that many see as a slap in the face.
"It's the epitome of an insult," said Mitzner, 66, a retired New York City teacher, who stood on the edge of Sunday's protesters and held aloft a handmade sign that proclaimed him to be "A Proud American Infidel."
The mosque and Islamic center would not actually exist at Ground Zero. Plans call for it to be built two blocks north, on Park Place, at the site of a former Burlington Coat Factory. Perhaps ironically, the center would be located around the corner from a Roman Catholic church which displays the Ground Zero "cross" of steel beams that were left standing after the trade center fell.
But for many, having a mosque even a short walk from Ground Zero is too close.
"It's not a question of building a mosque. It's where they're building it," said Glenn Corbett, a former Waldwick deputy fire chief.
"It's insensitive to the 9/11 families because Islam's faith was so central to the actions of 9/11," said Corbett, who also drove to the protest rally, held on a plaza across from Ground Zero where families have gathered in recent years on the anniversary of the attacks to mourn loved ones.
In North Jersey, many Muslim leaders say they support the mosque — and, indeed, see it as a way to present a much clearer view of Islamic theology and counteract what they feel is the warped spirituality of the 9/11 hijackers.
"Islam was hijacked by the terrorists," said Aref Assaf of Denville, who is president of the Paterson-based American Arab Forum and who has donated funds to the Ground Zero mosque. "It was not Islam that caused the events of 9/11. It was the terrorists."
"I disagree with what they are protesting. It almost seems as if there is a denial of religious rights," added Salaheddin Mustafa of Clifton, who runs the New Jersey chapter of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Such views were unfortunately not on display at Sunday's rally. Indeed, in tone and in the personalities it attracted, Sunday's rally was far different from the many Ground Zero gatherings and memorial services of recent years.
Only a handful of victims' relatives came on Sunday.
Sunday's crowd included representatives of the conservative Tea Party movement, some of them wearing anti-tax T-shirts that had nothing to do with Ground Zero, Islam or terrorism.
"We must take a stand and we must say no," shouted rally organizer Pamela Geller as the crowd roared approval. Moments later, another keynote speaker, Robert Spencer, sparked more cheers when he asked, "Are you tired of being lied to?"
Spencer, however, did not explain precisely what lies he was referring to.
Many protesters held American flags. Many carried signs.
"A Mosque at Ground Zero Spits on the Graves of 9/11," one placard proclaimed. Another sign depicted a toilet, with this message: "This is a Mosque. Do You Want it Built at Ground Zero?"
At one point, a portion of the crowd menacingly surrounded two Egyptian men who were speaking Arabic and were thought to be Muslims.
"Go home," several shouted from the crowd.
"Get out," others shouted.
In fact, the two men – Joseph Nassralla and Karam El Masry — were not Muslims at all. They turned out to be Egyptian Coptic Christians who work for a California-based Christian satellite TV station called "The Way." Both said they had come to protest the mosque.
"I'm a Christian," Nassralla shouted to the crowd, his eyes bulging and beads of sweat rolling down his face.
But it was no use. The protesters had become so angry at what they thought were Muslims that New York City police officers had to rush in and pull Nassralla and El Masry to safety.
"I flew nine hours in an airplane to come here," a frustrated Nassralla said afterward.
The incident underscores how contentious — and, perhaps, how irrational — the debate over the mosque has become.
A mosque, for instance, has been located since 1983 on West Broadway, about 12 blocks from Ground Zero. After the 9/11 attacks, the mosque's imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, began shaping plans to build an Islamic cultural center closer to Ground Zero as part of an attempt to build cultural ties between Islam and America.
Called Cordoba House, the center would rise 13 stories and would include a 500-seat auditorium, a swimming pool and a mosque.
Late last month, after New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a variety of political leaders announced their support for the project, the lower Manhattan community board voted 29-1, with 10 abstentions, to approve Cordoba House.
But there is still one hurdle left. Because plans call for extensive renovations to the former Burlington Coat Factory building, the center needs approval from the Landmark Preservation Commission.
That approval could come as early as July. But no matter what is decided, it will do little to soothe many hurt feelings — especially those of 9/11 victims' relatives.
In the end, those hurt feelings may be the biggest casualties of the debate.
"This proposed mosque is an insult to my son," said Joyce Boland of Ringwood, whose 25-year-old son, Vincent, perished in the North Tower.
"They say they want to teach us and want to be friends to us," she said of the mosque supporters. "You can't be friends when you are sticking someone in the eye with a knife."
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