 Though Imam Intikab Habib expressed anguish and regret for comments he made about 9/11 that resulted in his stepping down Friday before being sworn in as chaplain of the Fire Department, some members of the local Muslim community reacted with slightly less dismal emotions. "Fifty years from now, we will think this is all a step forward," said Dr. Abdul Jamil Khan, of Muttontown. The semi-retired chairman of pediatrics at Brooklyn's Interfaith Medical Center said Habib should have been more diplomatic. "He is backing off because he made a boo-boo," Khan said. "You can make many theories, but as a person who was going to be sworn into that sensitive position, he should have been very careful not to hurt others' feelings."
| Perhaps it is a step forward, since up until this point we've been the ones who're supposed to be ultra-sensitive of Islamic feelings. And I'd not call an ignorant diatribe that insults the people he purports to serve a "boo boo." |
Habib, 30, a Guyana native who teaches junior high students in Ozone Park, was in line to be the second Muslim chaplain in fire department history. He studied Islam in Saudi Arabia and immigrated to New York in July 2000. In a Thursday interview with Newsday, Habib stated doubts about who was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, saying conflicting reports left him wondering if it was 19 hijackers or some larger conspiracy that brought the towers down.
| He thereby demonstrated either abject ignorance or the fact that he's on the other side. In either case, he's got no business being associated with FDNY, and probably no business being in this country. |
On Friday, after his views appeared in the newspaper, he stepped down a few hours before he was to be installed as chaplain. Habib and fire department officials agreed it was the right thing to do, as did some in the Muslim community. "I think the resolution was appropriate," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based Islamic civil rights group. "People are people and they sometimes say things they shouldn't," he said, citing famous foot-in-mouth examples such as William Bennett and Pat Robertson.
| Pat Robertson's an oily preacher who likewise would have no business being associated with FDNY. William Bennett's not a preacher, and his remarks were intentionally distorted by people who don't like him. He has no known associated with FDNY. |
Habib's comments, unseemly as they may have been to some, should not be completely dismissed, said Ghazi Khankan, an Islamic affairs consultant from Westbury. "What happened to freedom of speech?" said Khankan, adding that Habib's comments should not have rendered him jobless.
| He's got the freedom to say any stoopid thing he wants as a private citizen. As a public employee, he's doesn't. As a public employee he's got a responsibility to get his facts straight or keep his mouth shut. He's also got a responsibility not to spout enemy propaganda and disinformation in his official capacity. |
"If he has a political opinion, it should not effect his work or his position. Before we condemn, we must investigate ... question the Imam further as to why does he believe this to be so."
| My guess is that it's what they told him in Soddy Arabia and he's not bright enough to disprove it even though it's fallacious on its face. How about if the local Moose limbs question the Imam further, while the rest of us, with the possible exception of the immigration courts, forget about him? |
Khankan said there are many other people, in the Middle East and in America, who question the conclusions of 9/11. "I hope this will create a movement to call for further investigation into the tragedy of 9/11 ... people can fume," Khankan said, "but opinions are good because they can bring solutions if they are aired and discussed." |