Lebanon Supporters Converge at White House

"Mr. Bush: Stop calling Islam 'Islamic fascism,' " said Esam Omesh, president of the Muslim American Society, prompting a massive roar from the crowd. He said there is no such thing, "just as there is no such thing as Christian fascism."

By early afternoon, the march wound its way around the White House. As the marchers turned onto 15th Street NW, they encountered about two dozen counter-protesters.

"There is no other God but Jesus!" shouted one of the counter-protesters. He held a megaphone in one hand, a Bible in the other.

The crowd shouted back: "Rah, rah, Hezbollah!" and "Long live Hezbollah!"

Syed Hussain, 19, of Columbia carried a neon green sign that read: "Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization."

"They're just defending themselves," Hussain said. "I hope this rally helps to show people that, so when they see us shouting 'Hezbollah,' they know what it means."

Jerry Scheer, 46, watched with his hands on his hips.

"I've never seen anything like this. I'm from Kansas," said Scheer, of Wichita, who expressed his displeasure with the rally. "But this is the only country in the world that would allow them to do this."

Staff writers Sandhya Somashekhar and Martin Weil contributed to this report.