FDNY's Muslim chaplain resigns

The Muslim chaplain of the Fire Department of New York resigned today over statements published in Newsday charging that a conspiracy brought down the twin towers on 9/11. The Muslim chaplain, Imam Intikab Habib , hired on August 15 (although this version says that today was his first day on the job), told Newsday that he was skeptical of the official version of the attack on the World Trade Center, which killed 343 firefighters.

"I've heard professionals say that nowhere ever in history did a steel building come down with fire alone," he told the newspaper.

"It takes two or three weeks to demolish a building like that. But it was pulled down in a couple of hours," he said. "Was it 19 hijackers who brought it down, or was it a conspiracy?"

The good Imam Habib, who was educated in Islamic law in Saudi Arabia (surprise!) and preaches at a New York mosque, had appeared qualified and passed a background check. Where? Ali Baba's Good Muslim Employment Service?

"It's sad," said Kevin James, a spokesman for the Islamic Society of Fire Department Personnel. "We had no idea those were his views. He's entitled to his opinion but he's not the right person for the chaplain."

But here is the real hoot. Imam Habib, speaking of Saudi Arabia, told Newsday,

"I come from a country where you're accustomed to living with people of different ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds."

Right. So long as you are a Sunni Muslim, avoid Westerners like the plague and condemn all Jews, you'll get along fine in Saudi Arabia. If you are a Christian you may not carry a Bible into the country, a crucifix must be hidden from public view and trying to find a place of worship is an exercise in futility. If you are a Jew you are not even allowed to enter the country. If you are a woman, Sunni or not, you may not drive a car, possess your own passport (it must be in the possession of a male relative) and you have to cover yourself head to ground so as not to sexually excite innocent Saudi males. If you are not a Muslim you may not even enter the city of Mecca. So, " . . . different ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds"? What a load of crap.


TAGS: FDNY, chaplain, Muslim, 9/11 conspiracy