A prominent Muslim cleric facing deportation is testifying in Newark in his
fight to make the United States his permanent home.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to deport Mohammad Qatanani,
the imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson, because the agency
says he lied when he failed to disclose in a 1999 application for permanent
residency -- or "green card" -- that Israel convicted him in 1993 for "assisting
Hamas."
Qatanani, who came to the United States on a religious visa in 1996, this
morning told the court about his childhood and growing up poor in a Palestinian
refugee camp. He says he wanted to be a mosque leader since he was six years
old, following in the footsteps of his father.
He has argued before that
he didn't note the incident involving the residency application because,
although he was detained for three months, the Israelis did not charge or him or
convict him.
Though immigration officials claim that documents provided by the Israelis
include a confession in which Qatanani admitted being a member of Hamas from
1989 to 1991, U.S. authorities have failed to produce it despite demands from
the imam’s lawyers.
In addition, FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials testified
last month that in a 2005 meeting, the imam informed them of the arrest and a
past link to Hamas, which the United States lists as a terrorist group.
The 44-year-old imam says that he was tortured while in detention and that,
under duress, he signed a document that was in Hebrew.
Aref Assaf, a spokesman for the imam, said that Qatanani did not, as the FBI
and ICE officials testified, refer to his detention by Israelis as an arrest.
Assaf also said that the imam did not tell the officials in the 2005 meeting
that he had once had links to Hamas. That meeting was at Qatanani’s request to
discuss the government’s delay in processing his application.
Assaf, a Denville resident and member of the Paterson mosque, said that
former Passaic County prosecutor Ronald Fava was at the 2005 meeting with the
imam as his attorney and on Monday will take the stand to refute the U.S.
officials’ account of what Qatanani said.
"This is a respected attorney and former prosecutor," Assaf said. "This is
the only way we can rectify the record about what was really said. What the U.S.
government claims the imam said is a total lie."
In hearings last month, expert witnesses testifying for Qatanani described
the Israeli court system in the 1990s as one that routinely trampled over the
rights of Palestinians and arbitrarily arrested and detained them.
The experts, who included scholars, lawyers and an official with Human Rights
Watch, said that Israelis would not have held Qatanani for only three months if
they had believed he had ties to Hamas.
The deportation trial is being closely watched by Muslims and non-Muslims
alike across the state.
Qatanani is widely respected among many of the state’s political and
religious leaders of various faiths as a devoted proponent of peace and for
bringing different groups together.
His mosque has hosted interfaith gatherings that have featured Gov. Jon
Corzine and Rep. Bill Pascrell, among other political leaders. He was the first
Muslim leader to officiate at the opening of the New Jersey General Assembly.
Many often praise him as one of the first imams in the nation to denounce the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and terrorism. After the attacks, he provided space in
the mosque to FBI officials, who set up tables to recruit Arabic speakers.
In Immigration Court, prosecutors for the government have tried to chip away
at Qatanani’s reputation as moderate and replace it with the portrait of a man
with a dark, lesser-known past.
Many Muslim leaders view the deportation effort against Qatanani as evidence
that even the champions of moderation in their community cannot shake the labels
of extremism and terrorism.
"This is religious lynching," Assaf said.
Still, many Qatanani supporters say they’re feeling cautiously optimistic.
They believe that on the stand, Qatanani will project the qualities that have
made him beloved among so many across the state.
"I’m hopeful and almost confident that once the judge hears him he’ll allow
him to stay here," said Hesham Mahmoud, who lives in Rutherford. "I think the
judge will see the decent human being who does nothing but spread the message of
love and unity. The imam is a very humble person."
Technically, the decision before Immigration Court Judge Alberto Riefkohl is
whether to approve Qatanani’s new application for U.S. residency for himself
and, by extension, his wife and three of his six children. The other three
children were born in the United States.
The judge is expected to issue a written decision. That could take weeks, or
even months, said the imam’s attorney, Claudia Slovinsky of Manhattan.
"This case is more than about just one person," Assaf said. "This case has
far-reaching political implications. It puts Israel on the stand, and what not
just one person endured under them, but what hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians have endured under the Israelis."
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A prominent Muslim cleric facing deportation is testifying in Newark in his
fight to make the United States his permanent home.
KEVIN R. WEXLER / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
Mohammad Qatanani addresses supporters at the federal
complex in Newark before testifying in his deportation trial.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to deport Mohammad Qatanani,
the imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson, because the agency
says he lied when he failed to disclose in a 1999 application for permanent
residency -- or "green card" -- that Israel convicted him in 1993 for "assisting
Hamas."
Qatanani, who came to the United States on a religious visa in 1996, this
morning told the court about his childhood and growing up poor in a Palestinian
refugee camp. He says he wanted to be a mosque leader since he was six years
old, following in the footsteps of his father.
He has argued before that he didn't note the incident involving the residency
application because, although he was detained for three months, the Israelis did
not charge or him or convict him.
Though immigration officials claim that documents provided by the Israelis
include a confession in which Qatanani admitted being a member of Hamas from
1989 to 1991, U.S. authorities have failed to produce it despite demands from
the imam’s lawyers.
In addition, FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials testified
last month that in a 2005 meeting, the imam informed them of the arrest and a
past link to Hamas, which the United States lists as a terrorist group.
The 44-year-old imam says that he was tortured while in detention and that,
under duress, he signed a document that was in Hebrew.
Aref Assaf, a spokesman for the imam, said that Qatanani did not, as the FBI
and ICE officials testified, refer to his detention by Israelis as an arrest.
Assaf also said that the imam did not tell the officials in the 2005 meeting
that he had once had links to Hamas. That meeting was at Qatanani’s request to
discuss the government’s delay in processing his application.
Assaf, a Denville resident and member of the Paterson mosque, said that
former Passaic County prosecutor Ronald Fava was at the 2005 meeting with the
imam as his attorney and on Monday will take the stand to refute the U.S.
officials’ account of what Qatanani said.
"This is a respected attorney and former prosecutor," Assaf said. "This is
the only way we can rectify the record about what was really said. What the U.S.
government claims the imam said is a total lie."
In hearings last month, expert witnesses testifying for Qatanani described
the Israeli court system in the 1990s as one that routinely trampled over the
rights of Palestinians and arbitrarily arrested and detained them.
The experts, who included scholars, lawyers and an official with Human Rights
Watch, said that Israelis would not have held Qatanani for only three months if
they had believed he had ties to Hamas.
The deportation trial is being closely watched by Muslims and non-Muslims
alike across the state.
Qatanani is widely respected among many of the state’s political and
religious leaders of various faiths as a devoted proponent of peace and for
bringing different groups together.
His mosque has hosted interfaith gatherings that have featured Gov. Jon
Corzine and Rep. Bill Pascrell, among other political leaders. He was the first
Muslim leader to officiate at the opening of the New Jersey General Assembly.
Many often praise him as one of the first imams in the nation to denounce the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and terrorism. After the attacks, he provided space in
the mosque to FBI officials, who set up tables to recruit Arabic speakers.
In Immigration Court, prosecutors for the government have tried to chip away
at Qatanani’s reputation as moderate and replace it with the portrait of a man
with a dark, lesser-known past.
Many Muslim leaders view the deportation effort against Qatanani as evidence
that even the champions of moderation in their community cannot shake the labels
of extremism and terrorism.
"This is religious lynching," Assaf said.
Still, many Qatanani supporters say they’re feeling cautiously
optimistic.
They believe that on the stand, Qatanani will project the qualities that have
made him beloved among so many across the state.
"I’m hopeful and almost confident that once the judge hears him he’ll allow
him to stay here," said Hesham Mahmoud, who lives in Rutherford. "I think the
judge will see the decent human being who does nothing but spread the message of
love and unity. The imam is a very humble person."
Technically, the decision before Immigration Court Judge Alberto Riefkohl is
whether to approve Qatanani’s new application for U.S. residency for himself
and, by extension, his wife and three of his six children. The other three
children were born in the United States.
The judge is expected to issue a written decision. That could take weeks, or
even months, said the imam’s attorney, Claudia Slovinsky of Manhattan.
"This case is more than about just one person," Assaf said. "This case has
far-reaching political implications. It puts Israel on the stand, and what not
just one person endured under them, but what hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians have endured under the Israelis."
E-mail:
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