An imam slated to be sworn in Friday as the chaplain of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) resigned after making controversial remarks on the Sept. 11 terror attacks in an interview with local newspaper Newsday.

FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta confirmed Habib's resignation, saying that based on comments he made to Newsday, Imam Intikab Habib "would have been unable to effectively serve in the role he was appointed to."

In a telephone interview Thursday, Habib, 30, a native of Guyana who studied Islam in Saudi Arabia, said he questioned whether 19 hijackers were responsible for the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and suggested a broader conspiracy may have brought down the Twin Towers and killed more than 2,700 people.

He said he doubted the United States government's official story blaming 19 hijackers associated with al-Quaida and Osama bin Laden.

Asked to elaborate on his reasons for doubting that story, he said it would take weeks to demolish a steel building, but the twin towers were pulled down in a couple of hours in Sept. 11. " Was it 19 hijackers who brought it down, or was it a conspiracy?" he asked.

But he added that in his position as a chaplain he believes whoever did it, it is a tragic incident, and it is always wrong to take an innocent human life.

Habib said he was given a choice of whether to resign or not. " Unfortunately, I did not want to, but it was best for the department," he added.

The second Muslim nominated as chaplain in the FDNY's history, Habib was one of several imams recommended for the chaplain's job by the Islamic Society for the Fire Department.

The firefighters union said the fire commissioner personally hired Habib and should take responsibility for Habib's remarks.

Mayor Bloomberg said he welcomed Habib's resignation. "The remarks were offensive and the mayor is satisfied that the chaplain has resigned," mayoral spokesman Ed Skyler said.

A total of 343 members of the FDNY were killed at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

Source: Xinhua