A heated meeting ended in chaos on Staten Island on Wednesday night. The subject: a Muslim group looking to open a mosque at the site of a former convent.

It was stormy outside and stormy inside. The Q & A turned into mayhem.

An overflow crowd grew until the gates around this meeting hall had to be secured by police. The hundreds inside were witnessing a spectacle. There was passion and loud interruptions.

This crowd was neither passive nor patient, loudly demanding answers about the mosque planned for an old convent on Greeley Avenue.

Many objected to the idea of an Islamic house of worship in the neighborhood, admitting they are afraid of the property’s new owners, the Muslim American Society or MAS.

“Just not for the neighborhood, just not for the neighborhood, I’m afraid,” one woman said.

“I’d like to know why the MAS is on the watch list for terrorism,” another woman said.

“Will you here and now denounce Hamas and Hezbollah as jihad terrorist organizations?” asked Robert Spencer, founder of “Jihad Watch.”

MAS representatives denied any links to extremist groups and said the mosque would promote peace and understanding.

“Muslim American Society is an independent organization, American organization, that has no links with the Muslim brotherhood,” a MAS representative said.

Some residents said they were angry the sale was secretly brokered by a parish priest who recently resigned.

Two hours into a meeting full of shouting and interruptions it was clear order could not be restored.

“The meeting is over. Everyone please go home,” screamed one of the moderators.

(Source: WCBSTV)