Warith Deen Umar

Who is Warith Deen Umar?

Warith Deen Umar is a New York area imam and resident of Bethlehem, New York. He was formerly the head Muslim chaplain of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, until his remarks praising the September 11 hijackers in 2003 caused him to be fired from his position.

Umar was born the seventh child of a Black Muslim minister, and named in honor of Wallace Delaney Fard. Umar is a former convict.

He drew public attention in 2009 when he gave a speech at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America in which he asserted that the Holocaust happened to the Jews "because they were serially disobedient to Allah." He went on to allege that a group of Jews close to President Barack Obama "control the world." The ISNA immediately condemned the tenor of the comments.

At one time Umar was employed as the Administrative Chaplain for the State of New York Department of Corrections. A "Radical Muslim," Umar was found to have denied prisoners access to "mainstream" imams and religious instructional and devotional materials.