By Adam Nichols
DNAinfo News Editor
DOWNTOWN — Furious protesters on either side of the Ground Zero mosque controversy braved torrential rain Sunday to hurl venom at each other at dueling rallies.
As 150 supporters of the planned Islamic community center gathered at a penned-in site at the corner of West Broadway and Murray Street, at least 500 opponents lined up in a similar pen just a block away.
A line of police officers separated them.
"Fascists, get out!" yelled supporters, according to the New York Post. "Stop the fear and hate."
Their cries were met with chants of "USA!" and "No clubhouse for terrorists."
Sunday's protests were the latest in a furious debate that's brought emotions to boiling point across the country.
"Thousands of people died here," Jersey City resident Bob Brennan, 57, told the Post.
"I believe in freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean it's the right thing to do."
But Joe Porcelli, 57, from Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, said, "Muslims are a target by racists, and they have a right to build their Islamic center here.
"This is where the congregation is."
Developers want to build the 13-story mosque at a former Burlington Coat Factory store on Park Place. Organizers with the Park 51 project have tried to squelch rumors that they might consider relocating the center, but said they were "consulting with their stakeholders" on how to move forward, the Daily News reported.
"We don't want to create conflict," Daisy Khan, the wife of Park 51 head Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, reportedly told ABC's "This Week." "We will meet and we do what is right for everyone."
