FDNY’s New Muslim Chaplain Resigns After 9/11 Comments

September 30, 2005

Source: Beliefnet

Wire Service: AP

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/176/story_17616_1.html

On September 30, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "The fire department's new Muslim chaplain abruptly resigned Friday after saying in a published interview that he believes something other than al-Qaida hijackers brought down the World Trade Center... Habib told Newsday in an interview published Friday that he was skeptical of the official version of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks 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?'... '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'... Mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed Habib's resignation."