Published: May 09, 2007 11:07 pm      

Local imam resigns amid criticism of his remarks

The leader of the Islamic Center of Johnstown has stepped down, two weeks after calling for the death penalty for a speaker critical of the Muslim faith.

The resignation comes in response to a request by board members, who said his statements do not reflect the views of the center’s members.

Fouad ElBayly said Wednesday he has complied with the request and resigned as the center’s imam – prayer leader – and president.

“I’ve said enough already,” ElBayly told The Tribune-Democrat when asked to comment on the controversy surrounding New York Times best-selling author Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s visit to Pitt-Johnstown in April.

ElBayly, an Egyptian who has lived in the U.S. since 1976 and been part of the local Islamic Center for about 14 years, said further statements should come from Dr. Jawad Salameh, vice president of the center. An attempt to reach Salemeh for comment was unsuccessful.

The center’s position was spelled out in a letter to The Tribune-Democrat from Johnstown attorney Dennis Stofko.

He described the board and congregation members as having been shocked and regretful of comments made by ElBayly regarding the visit of Hirsi Ali, author of the book “Infidel.”

ElBayly and Mahmood A. Qazi, the center’s founder, opposed the visit by Hirsi Ali, a Dutch feminist who describes Islam as intolerant and oppressive to women. They tried but failed to convince UPJ leaders to cancel the speech.

Stofko, who could not be reached for comment, said in the letter that the center was established to foster religious tolerance, education and the exercise of religious beliefs.

In an April 22 story published in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, ElBayly said Hirsi Ali had defamed the faith and contended a death sentence for her was warranted. However, ElBayly added, she should be judged at trial in a Muslim country.

In an April 29 letter to the Tribune-Democrat’s Readers’ Forum, ElBayly apologized for his statements in the Pittsburgh paper. He said he misunderstood the issue.

In the address at UPJ, held under strict security because of other death threats, Hirsi Ali told a crowd of more than 200 that Islam is incompatible with the principles of open, liberal societies.