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Word of Imam Abdallah Adhami’s decision came on the heels of an exclusive NY1 report about the imam's views on homosexuality.

Adhami said he is stepping down from his position as senior advisor, less than a month after joined the project. He had been under fire ever since NY1 first reported last week about his views on homosexuality.

In a lecture the imam sells on the Internet, he says most homosexuality is brought on by abuse.

“An enormously, overwhelming percentage of people struggle with homosexual feeling because of some form of violent emotional or sexual abuse at some point in their life,” he says. “A small, tiny percentage of people are born with a natural inclination they cannot explain. You find this in the animal kingdom on some level as well.”

Those remarks were quickly denounced by gay advocates, who say they are unacceptable and hostile toward gay people.

In a statement, Sharif El-Gamal, the developer of the Islamic community center, known as Park51, said: “We have been humbled by Imam Adhami’s contributions to this project over the past few months. His teachings and scholarly work on the Islamic faith remain an important part of our community. We look forward to him, God willing, leading prayers informally for Park51 in the near future.”

In a statement, Adhami did not address the uproar over his remarks on homosexuality. He said it is important for him to spend time finishing a book he's been working on about the Quran.

That did not go far enough for gay advocates, who said the imam's remarks were not only inaccurate, but dangerous and need to be denounced.

"We certainly hope that this project does not allow him to go quietly into the night. They have a responsibility to call out his remarks and say they too believe them to be wrong," said Fred Sainz of the Human Rights Campaign. "And they have a responsibility to not only all New Yorkers, but to all Americans to do that."

In the meantime, questions are lingering about the future of the project. The developer has distanced himself from the center's founding religious leader, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.

Rauf caused a stir last weekend, when during an interview on Buffalo News he was asked whether he would be willing to move Park51 if he were offered another site.

He responded, "I would move."

El-Gamal said Rauf no longer speaks on behalf of the Park51 project.