Shaykh Adballah Adhami, the 44-year-old Muslim scholar recently named religious leader of the Park51 community center near Ground Zero is already leaving the project, officials said Friday, according to an article by Samuel Goldsmith today at the New York Daily News.

He had accepted the role on January 14, 2011 and was uncomfortable with the media attention he received after joining Park51, an official with knowledge of the project told the Daily News.

In a statement, Adhami said it's "important for me now to devote my time to the completion of my book, which assists English readers in understanding and facilitating the language of the Quran."

"I wish the project leaders well," said Adhami.

The quick departure came less than a month after another sudden announcement that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf was taking on a reduced role with Park51.

Rauf, a co-founder of the project, stepped down as religious leader but agreed to stay on the project's board. He and Park51 developer Sharif El-Gamal had been at odds, and Rauf said he wanted to focus on other projects.

Adhami was accused of making anti-gay statements in lectures, prompting El-Gamal last month to issue a statement saying the cleric's views "will not always represent the official position of Park51."

"We have been humbled by Imam Adhami's contributions to this project over the past few months," El-Gamal said in a statement Friday. "We look forward to him, God willing, leading prayers informally for Park51 in the near future."

Progress on the Park51 project has apparently stalled since summer when a fiery debate over the sensitivity of the project crisscrossed the country.

Opponents say the location blocks from Ground Zero is an insult to families of 9/11 victims.