Israel Matzav

Rabbi testifies in support of Imam facing deportation from US

A Conservative Rabbi from Pompton Lakes, New Jersey testified yesterday in Federal Court in Newark in support of an Imam who is facing deportation from the United States for failing to disclose on his immigration application that he was convicted of membership in Hamas in Israel.

Rabbi David Senter testified Friday in a New Jersey courtroom that Imam Mohamman Qatanani tried bring together people of different faiths.

Qatanani faces deportation for not disclosing a 1993 conviction in Israel on his U.S. citizenship application. The Israeli military charged Qatanani with being a member of the militant Hamas organization.

Qatanani claims he was not aware of the conviction and says he was subjected to physical and mental abuse while in detention. The trial is in its second day.

According to Israeli military authorities, Qatanani admitted being a member of the militant Hamas organization during interrogation in 1993 in Israel.

"Imam Mohammed Katanani was convicted based on his own admission on charges of belonging to an unauthorized association and providing services to an unauthorized association, for being a member of Hamas and acting on its behalf," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press.

The U.S. State Department includes Hamas on its list of "designated foreign terrorist organizations." Anyone identified as a member or a supporter of an organization on the list can be refused entry to the U.S., according to Lucille Cirillo, spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

According to the army statement, an Israeli military court sentenced Qatanani to three months in prison and a 12-month suspended sentence, and also fined him.

Qatanani, who heads the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson, faces possible deportation for not disclosing the conviction when he applied for citizenship in 1999. He is scheduled to appear before immigration Judge Alberto J. Riefkohl in Newark on May 8.

Qatanani has said he was not notified of the conviction until last year when he appealed a 2006 ruling denying his citizenship application. He also has denied being a member of Hamas.

How could he 'not know' he had been convicted? Did he spend the three months in jail or didn't he? And what did he do between 1993 and 1999?

As to the Rabbi, I have long since given up trying to justify every action of everyone who claims that title for himself these days.

But fear not Americans. Even if Imam Qatanani is eventually deported, he has some relatives that have US citizenship and some friends in high places.

Qatanani is married and has six children, three of whom were born in the U.S. and three in Jordan. The three foreign-born children would be subject to deportation along with Qatanani and his wife, Sumaia.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- and after it was revealed that several of the hijackers lived for some time in Paterson -- Qatanani gained notoriety for his efforts to reach out to other religious leaders and law enforcement authorities.

His mosque offered classes explaining Islam to those of other faiths [that's what Al-AP refers to as 'reaching out'? CiJ], and he was praised by the FBI for providing Arabic speakers to help translate interviews with community members.

Political leaders, including Gov. Jon S. Corzine, have expressed support for Qatanani, and the imam's followers have raised about $135,000 for his defense in recent weeks. They are planning a rally in Newark on the day his trial begins, according to Aref Assaf, president of the Paterson-based American Arab Forum.

I have very little sympathy for this guy. I wonder if Israel would take him and throw him in jail here. Remember Mussa Abu-Marzouk?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:24 PM