An imam slated to be sworn in as a Fire Department of New York chaplain resigned last week, according to Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.

Imam Intikab Habib said he resigned because he doubted the U.S. government's official story blaming 19 hijackers associated with al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden for the events of September 11, 2001. Habib said that he still wasn't sure who was responsible for the attacks.

The imam told NY1 that he did not want to resign, but felt it was the best thing for the department.

"I, as an individual, don't know who did the attacks," said Habib, 30, a soft-spoken man who emigrated to New York in July 2000, after spending six years in Saudi Arabia getting a degree in Islamic theology and law. "There are so many conflicting reports about it. I don't believe it was 19 hijackers who did those attacks."

Asked to elaborate on his reasons for doubting that story, he talked about video and news reports widely disseminated in the Muslim community.

"I've heard professionals say that nowhere ever in history did a steel building come down with fire alone," he said. "It takes two or three weeks to demolish a building like that. But it was pulled down in a couple of hours. Was it 19 hijackers who brought it down, or was it a conspiracy?"

Questioned about whom he believed was responsible for the attacks, Habib said he didn't know. He said, however, that he did not expect to raise his doubts with rank-and-file firefighters, nor did he share them two weeks ago when he participated in several Sept. 11 memorials on behalf of the Fire Department.

The Guyana native joined the department as chaplain on Aug. 15, 2005, after the FDNY's Islamic Society recommended him for the part-time position, which pays $18,000 a year.

"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."