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Thursday, September 4, 2008
Last updated:
Thursday September 4, 2008, EDT 2:27 PM
BY ELIZABETH LLORENTE,
The Bergen Record
STAFF WRITER
CHRIS PEDOTA / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A prominent Muslim cleric
whom federal authorities sought to link to a
terrorist group has won his bid to call the
United States his permanent home.
Calling the government's case "patently
incomplete," a federal immigration judge in
Newark ruled today that Mohammad Qatanani, the
spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of
Passaic County, can remain in the U.S.
The testimony of two federal agents in the case
"is tainted by the lack of an accurate record
and their inconsistent and contradictory
testimony," Immigration Judge Alberto J.
Riefkohl wrote in a 71-page decision.
Qatanani, 44, who is Palestinian, has served as
Muslim religious leader at the mosque in
Paterson since 1996, when he emigrated from
Jordan on a religious worker visa. He applied
for permanent U.S. residency in 1999 for
himself, his wife and three of their six
children who were not born in America.
U.S. immigration authorities had sought to
deport the imam on grounds that he failed to
disclose on his green card application a prior
arrest and conviction in Israel for being a
member of Hamas — a group classified as a
terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
At the same time, elected and appointed
officials of various stripes expressed support
for Qatanani.
"My view is he's always had a very good
relationship with us, and he's a man of great
good will," U.S. Attorney Chris Christie said
last night before exchanging traditional cheek
kiss greetings with him and wishing him well
during a breaking of the Ramadan fast in
Paterson.
The evening turned into a tribute, as speaker
after speaker paid Qatanani homage, sometimes to
standing ovations. Many said they had never been
in a mosque before the imam reached out to them,
and they credited him for helping them gain
access to and an understanding of the Muslim and
Arab communities.
These included Weysan Dun, the special agent in
charge of the FBI's Newark office; U.S. Rep.
Bill Pascrell, D-N.J.; county prosecutors;
sheriffs, and the director of the New Jersey
Office of Homeland Security in praising Qatanani
and the role of mosque members in building
bridges with law enforcement in the wake of the
Sept. 11 attacks.
During Qatanani's immigration hearing, Jewish,
Catholic and Episcopalian leaders also testified
that they viewed him as a moderate Muslim leader
dedicated to interfaith outreach. Hundreds of
his supporters kept a vigil outside the
courthouse during his trial, which began in
early May.
Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security sought to portray Qatanani as a
terrorist-affiliated Muslim activist, quoting a
sermon he gave at the Paterson mosque in which
he called Israelis "transgressors" and
questioning his ties to his brother-in-law, a
convicted Hamas terrorist who was killed by the
Israelis.
Government lawyers also said Qatanani had been
an outspoken university leader during his
student days in Jordan.
Qatanani has denied being a Hamas member and
said he was detained, not arrested, by the
Israelis while traveling to his native West Bank
in 1993. He said he was not notified of the
charges against him nor his conviction.
Qatanani was in detention for three months,
during which he says he was tortured and, under
duress, forced to sign a document in Hebrew that
he did not understand.
Judge Riefkohl found no credible evidence
linking him to terrorism and wrote that family
ties to a convicted terrorist do not make
someone a terrorist. He said testimony in
support of the imam from U.S. law enforcement
officials made his application credible.
"The Court has to emphasize that the enigma in
this regard is not created by Mr. Qatanani, his
answers, nor his testimony," the decision reads.
"This ambiguity is created by DHS, the FBI,
other Federal Agencies and the Israeli
government whose acts, cumulatively, have
avoided disclosing to this Court the real and
actual facts surrounding Mr. Qatanani's
imprisonment in the West Bank in 1993."
Many have seen the government’s deportation
efforts against Imam Mohammad Qatanani – who
pushed for moderation and embracing non-Muslisms
-- as evidence that Muslims and Arabs,
regardless of their moderate views, are
stereotyped as terrorist, or terrorist
sympathizers.
“This will impact how our community deals with
United States government officials," Aref Assaf,
head of the Paterson-based American Arab Forum
said before the judge's decision was released.
"We have been working well with the FBI, the
U.S. Attorney’s office, and immigration, mostly
because of the imam and his encouragement to us
to cooperate and work with the government.
“But if there is a negative decision, the
cooperation will continue, but it will be
different, not as close like before.”
Attention to the case also came from outside the
community.
“We hope for the best in this decision,”
Pascrell said last night, adding that he
recently prayed with the imam for his situation.
“It’s in God’s hands. We can’t always be happy
with every decision that is made, particularly
by government.”
Pascrell praised the imam, saying , “You put so
much time into bringing peace for all of us. . .
Thank you, imam, for all that you’ve done for
America since you’ve come here.”
Passaic County Prosecutor James Avigliano said
to the imam, “No matter what happens, you will
always be my friend.”
Today's decision means that Qatanani, his wife
and their three foreign-born children can now
become legal permanent U.S. residents. Both
parties have 30 days to appeal the ruling.
E-mail: llorente@northjersey.com
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