At the New York Times, A. G. Sulzberger is portraying Ahmad Wais Afzali, the imam to Najibullah Zazi, as an unknowing accomplice to Zazi's plot to carry out suicide attacks on New York City's subways:

Mr. Afzali, an imam who was also an infrequent police informant, was sentenced in United States District Court in Brooklyn in connection with a plot to set off bombs in the subway, a scheme that would be described as the most significant threat to national security since 9/11.   The imam essentially warned Najibullah Zazi, the admitted organizer of the plot, that he was under surveillance and — failing to grasp the significance of what he stumbled into — urged him to stay out of trouble. Mr. Afzali would plead guilty to lying to federal officials about the phone conversations he had with Mr. Zazi.   But Mr. Afzali said that even in that criminal act, he was a victim of his desire to serve as a bridge between his country and his community. And in trying to please competing constituencies, he ended up failing both.   Mr. Afzali, 38, avoided a prison sentence on Thursday — even the prosecutor conceded that the defendant was “almost certainly” unaware of the seriousness of his conduct — but not punishment. He will be deported if he does not leave the country within 90 days.   “I’m standing in front of you as a convicted felon, a lying imam, which is a physical, emotional and spiritual burden far greater than any sentence you could impose,” Mr. Afzali told Judge Frederic Block in the brief sentencing hearing.

The New York Times’ portray of Afzali is highly misleading at best. If you read the complaint and affidavit of in support of the warrant to arrest Afzali, you'll see that he knew a bit more than he lets on to. Afzali immediately contacts Zazi after the visit, and coaches him to lie about the reason he went to Pakistan.

"You went to visit your wife, right?" Afzali tells Zazi, who really went to Pakistan to train at al Qaeda camps.

Afzali also coaches Zazi to not get involved in a political discussion, apparently knowing that this would raise red flags for police. "Don't get involved in Afghanistan garbage, Iraq garbage," Afzali told Zazi.

Afzali is being deported instead of prosecuted for hindering a police investigation. This was likely part of Zazi’s plea deal. Zazi pled guilty to conspiring to conduct attacks in the US and for providing support to al Qaeda.