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Protest outside Chicago-area mosque

BRIDGEFIELD, Ill. (CNN) -- A patriotic rally outside a suburban Chicago restaurant late Wednesday turned into a demonstration against a local mosque following terror attacks on New York and Washington, police said.

Bridgefield Police Lt. Russell Harvey said the rally outside a Red Lobster in nearby Oaklawn turned into a demonstration against The Mosque Foundation, an Islamic worship center in Bridgefield. The demonstration drew between 300 and 500 people and a heavy police presence, Harvey said.

"They're trying to make trouble outside, and we're working to keep them back," he said.

Harvey said several law enforcement agencies were keeping the crowd away from the mosque, closing eight blocks of Harlem Avenue, a major north-south thoroughfare. He said the demonstration was just a "pro-American" rally until about 10 p.m., when "they decided they were going to protest against the mosque."

The rally came in response to Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, which may have left thousands of people dead.

U.S. officials have said they suspect Islamic militant leader Osama bin Laden may have been behind the attacks, and Arab-American and Muslim groups have expressed concern that the terrorist attacks would prompt a backlash against them.

Attempts to contact the mosque early Thursday were unsuccessful.


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