国际英语新闻：New York City holds 9/11 memorials amid Ground Zero mosque debate

NEW YORK, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- New Yorkers held a commemoration ceremony on Saturday near Ground Zero to mark the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center as the City debated whether a mosque and Islamic community center should be built near the site.

Thousands of relatives of the 9/11 dead gathered in Zuccotti Park near Ground Zero for the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks nine years ago. Family members and workers who are building the September 11th Memorial and Museum read the names of the 2,752 World Trade Center victims during the official memorial ceremony.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York state Governor David Paterson and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie all read inspirational poems at the ceremony.

"No other place is as filled with our compassion, our love and our solidarity," said Mayor Bloomberg while opening the memorial service. "It is with the strength of these emotions, as well as the concrete, glass and steel that is brought in day by day, that we will build on the footprints of the past the foundation of the future."

Moments of silence were held at 8:46 and 9:03 a.m., when the planes hit the towers nine years ago, and at 9:59 and 10:28 a.m., when each tower fell. Nearby, roses were placed in a circular reflecting pool to honor each of the dead.

On the backdrop of the 9/11 memorial solemnity, however, is the dispute over the building of a mosque two blocks away from the World Trade Center.

Alyson Low, whose sister was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11 that crashed into the north tower, came to the ceremony early with a poster in hand, which read "Today is only about my sister and the other innocents killed nine years ago."

"No politics and no religious offense today. It's all about the victims," Low told Xinhua before the ceremony started.

Nick Chiarchiaro, who lost his wife during the terrorist attacks nine years ago, believed the mosque should be moved away from the Ground Zero.

"To hate somebody because of religion is a crime. But I think the mosque must be moved further away," said Chiarchiaro, who came from New Jersy to attend the ceremony.

Talking about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Chiarchiaro said it was not worthwhile. "They should pack their bags and come home. It's all about money, and about oil," he said.

After the memorial ceremony, hundreds of protesters were expected to gather for supporting and opposing the planned Islamic Center near the World Trade Center site.

In the city, around 7 p.m., the "Tribute In Light" will begin shining until dawn.