PATERSON -- The first congressman to be sworn into office using the Islamic holy book, the Quran, encouraged members of the Islamic Center of Passaic County on Saturday to become "beacons of light in their community."

Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., spoke before the roughly 300 people gathered at the Paterson mosque Saturday afternoon during a visit organized by Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson. Imam Mohammad Qatanani, the center's spiritual leader, called Ellison's visit a blessing.

"You have opened doors for Muslims," Qatanani said during the 30-minute program. "You are an example for us."

Ellison's visit came during a difficult time for Qatanani, one of the most well-known imams in the country. He faces deportation after his application for a U.S. visa was denied in 2006. Qatanani is fighting the move by immigration officials.

His three-day hearing at federal Immigration Court is set for May.

The case hinges on whether Qatanani, a Palestinian national, was convicted by an Israeli Military Court in 1993 and should have disclosed that to U.S. immigration investigators. Qatanani argues that he was detained during a visit to the West Bank and released without charges.

The fight has ignited a groundswell of support for the imam, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1996 to serve as a spiritual leader for the Paterson mosque. Supporters have established a nonprofit organization, Community Help, to run a grassroots campaign for him. Nearly 200 people have joined one of its eight committees, according to Magdi Mahmoud, a Totowa business consultant running the effort.

Since Qatanani went public about the deportation in February, participants have fanned out to mosques, churches and synagogues across New Jersey and New York to solicit support. Qatanani has become known for cultivating dialogue among Muslims, law enforcement and other faiths. So far, supporters have collected some 2,000 signatures on a petition to be sent to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and immigration officials, campaign members said.

"He's done so much to support me," said Bahiah Abdrabboh, 30, a Clifton teacher, as she helped collect written testimonials about the Imam on Saturday.

Three fundraisers at the Islamic Center and mosques in New York City have raised $140,000 for the campaign, Mahmoud said. Funds go to the elaborate publicity effort, including the printing of 10,000 brochures, filming a documentary about Qatanani, building a Web site and renting buses for a rally planned outside the Newark courthouse in May. Organizers hope to bring thousands of supporters to the hearing.

"We badly need him to stay with us," said Mahmoud, the Totowa consultant, who originally helped bring the Imam to the Islamic Center. "He has become the public symbol of the Muslim community in New Jersey."

Campaign members hope Pascrell will sponsor a private bill in Congress to stop the imam's deportation.

"I will do everything in my power to keep you here," said Pascrell, as mosque members applauded. "We have a long journey ahead of us."

Ellison, who did not know about the imam's deportation case prior to Saturday, urged mosque members to get involved in American political life.

"There is a Muslim perspective on global warming," said Ellison, standing in the mosque's large open prayer room. "There is a Muslim perspective on the 5 million people who do not have health insurance."

In 2007, Ellison was the first Muslim elected to Congress. Some congressmen took offense at him taking his oath of office on the Quran instead of the Holy Bible. Pascrell was one of the first to defend him, Ellison said.

Reach Heather Haddon at 973-569-7121 or haddon@northjersey.com.