BBC News with Fiona MacDonald

Hours after ceremonies took place in the United States on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, protesters have been staging demonstrations over the building of an Islamic centre near Ground Zero, the place where the attacks happened. Our correspondent Matt Wells reports.

More than 1,000 protesters against the building of a planned Muslim cultural centre near Ground Zero are taking part in a rally organized by the Stop Islamization of America campaign. Some demonstrators from an earlier and similar-size event in favour of the project are mingling at back of the crowd, provoking some heated arguments. The heavy police presence is keeping order as a selection of speakers take the stage to denounce the role of Islam in the West. The 9/11 commemorations have been overshadowed by a debate with no compromise in sight.