Free Speech - With Suspension - For City Imam

Umar Abdul-Jalil, the city's top chaplain and a Muslim imam, was suspended for two weeks for controversial remarks given at an out-of-state speech. When the NY Post published that Abdul-Jalil said "the greatest terrorists in the world occupy the White House" (plus referred to "the Zionists of the media"), a furor erupted over what a city employee should or should not say. Mayor Bloomberg (and his advisers) ultimately decided that the comments warranted only a suspension, because though he erred by not clarifying that he was not speaking as a representative of the city, he should have the opportunity to speak freely. Here were the Mayor's comments:

"I certainly don't agree with that view, but the issue here is not do I agree with him, but does he have a right to say what he wants to say At the same time, we have an obligation to ensure that city employees do not falsely represent their political statements as the official position of their agency."

And then he criticized both the right and the left for being overzealous in watchdoging speech for being unpatriotic or not politically correct enough. Ah, this is the Mayor Bloomberg we like - not quite liberal enough for Democrats, not conservative enough for Republicans and trying to find the political middle! At any rate, the Mayor made sure he had backup at the press conference: Three Jewish chaplains appeared for support.

Abdul-Jalil will appeal the sentence, as his lawyer Norman Siegel insists that it's clear Abdul-Jalil was not speaking on behalf of the city while Abdul-Jalil himself says that people have said worse things. Honestly, Gothamist thinks we hear worse vitriol - from all sides - on cable news and talk radio, but when the "offenders" are black, Muslim men who work for the city - it is a perfect political hot potato. Naturally, the NY Post is upset by this decision and ridicules the Mayor for giving New Yorkers a lesson on free speech. Well, people do need it at times. And for a refresher, here's the U.S. Constitution.

Photograph from NY Post