Rival rallies over Ground Zero mosque

Rival demonstrators have held rallies over plans to build a mosque near the World Trade Center site in New York.

Hundreds of protesters marched to Ground Zero in Manhattan, carrying signs with slogans that read "No Mosque Here" and "No Sharia Here." They sang patriotic songs and waved flags and photographs of violent attacks by Islamic extremists.

Supporters of the Muslim cultural center and mosque rallied just a few blocks away. The two groups were kept apart by a heavy police presence.

The emotionally charged dispute has taken on national political significance, with Republicans using the issue to attack President Barack Obama ahead of midterm elections where his Democrats are fighting to retain control of Congress.

The rallies were held near the location of the proposed Muslim center, just two blocks from the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaeda, which destroyed the World Trade Center towers and killed close to 3,000 people.

US President Barack Obama has said he supports the right of Muslims to build the center near Ground Zero, while Republicans, including former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, oppose it. A new Pew Research poll has found that nearly one in five Americans - 18 per cent- now mistakenly say Mr Obama is a Muslim.