Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa testified today that he once respected a Brooklyn imam who is suing him for libel — but his opinion radically changed when the local Muslim leader came out in support of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers.
Sliwa said imam Siraj Wahhaj, an “unindicted coconspirator” in the terrorist plot, deserved law enforcement scrutiny after he loudly supported its mastermind Omar Abdel Rahman, known as the “Blind Sheik,” during his trial.
“You were a character witness for him … this man who tried to destroy the World Trade Center,” Sliwa said, adding that one of the bombers who carried out the bombing for Rahman had also attended Wahhaj’s mosque.
Wahhaj is suing Sliwa, who is represented by lawyer Paul Siegert, for $5 million after the ABC radio talk show host appeared on a televised panel discussion and suggested the imam’s mosque trafficked guns to Canada.
“I never mentioned his name or the mosque,” Sliwa testified and explained that he made his comments in response to the moderator, who was leading a heated discussion on anti-terrorism surveillance methods.
Sliwa testified that back in the late 1980s, when he and the imam were working hand-in-hand to combat drug gangs, several members of a mosque-run community patrol had told him some men in their group were caught with guns.
“The guy takes a powder. He takes his gun and goes on a vacation in Canada and waits until the heat’s off,” Sliwa said, adding that the imam had asked for his help in teaching the patrol group how to do their work without carrying weapons.
The case was sent to the jury this afternoon.