Americans For Qatanani
A project of Community Help, Inc

 For Immediate Release

A progress report: Imam Mohammad Qatanani Deportation Case is now a Community Matter.

Contact Dr. Aref Assaf, 973-960-2673

Paterson, NJ: March 27, 2008:  The Americans for Qatanani grassroots organization (A4Q) continues to build momentum and popular support for the Imam and his family. The mission ofA4Q is convincing our government that the Imam is good for America and that his deportation will yield no tangible benefits. On the contrary, the Imam’s absence may revere years of hard work and great accomplishments on many fronts. The various subcommittees of the campaign are exceeding expectation by their accomplished work thus far. It should be noted that the A4Q is a project of the newly formed non-profit corporation, Community Help.

The In-Reach Committee is arranging for visits to several key Islamic centers in the tri- State area to garner community support both moral and financial. More visits are in place covering the entire state plus NY. The aim to visit several mosques each week, make contacts with h the Imams and leaders of the various mosques to publicize the  case, to sign petitions and to volunteer. Response by the community has been most impressive and we have more volunteers than we could absorb.

The Outreach Committee is actively soliciting and receiving support from a wide range of religious and nongovernmental organizations. A major event is set for late April where representatives from many churches, synagogues, and mosques will gather to finalize plans for a major press conference in early May.

The Fundraising Committee's persistence is paying off with direct donations to help with the legal and other ancillary fees associated with the campaign. Visits to area mosques have resulted in additional donations. The Committee expects to raise about $250,000 as more people are made aware of the issue that faces our community and the need to financially support our efforts.

The Political Committee has reached out to several local, state, and national elected officials soliciting their support. Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) was joined last week by Keith Ellison, D-MN as they visited the ICPC to reiterate their support for the Imam and our community. Congressman Ellison is one of the two American Muslims currently serving in the US congress. The Political   committee is pursuing two resolutions in the Paterson and Prospect Park city councils declaring their support of the Imam and the Muslim community. Meetings with other elected officials are also taking place and producing results.

A new letter writing Committee has been established to both allow and encourage community members, especially the youth, to write about their impressions of the Imam and to urge the Judge and Homeland security to keep the Imam in America. Similarly, a new blog has been created for the same purpose. This is a great opportunity for many who have interest in media work or just like to write to be engaged in this effort.

Work is in earnest to finalize the details of the yet to be confirmed Rally during the court hearing date of May 8, 9, and 12. We expect a large turnout during those critical days and we will be providing busing for participants from key locations. It is vitally critical for support to make every effort to attend these rally days. Details will be provided soon and may be accessed on the website as well.

Finally the Media committee work continues unabated as it regularly fields questions from reporters, arranging for interviews both for print and digital media. We are working with reporters from the Associated Press, the New York Times plus the Bergen Record and the Herald News. We are grateful for the Tri-State Muslim newspaper for providing this space on its pages as well. The Imam also appeared on a one hour long radio interview on WBAI wit host Barbara Nimr Aziz. You can listen to the interview on www.wbai.org (March 25, Tahrir, &-8 PM) We are also planning for Television interviews and we expect airing such interviews in the second week of April. The brochure which summarizes the Imam's case is now ready and will be distributed widely. We have also finalized the design and will soon receive thousands of t-shirts and caps highlighting the campaign's message, "Keep the Imam in America".

Great progress has been made on the special documentary we are so diligently trying to finalize and make available for wide distribution and viewing. All interviews have been completed; the script is all but done.

 For Internet users, you can still read all pertinent info on American Arab Forum's website, www.aaafusa.org. We are happy to finally announce that a dedicated website  www.americans4qatanani.org is now up and can be accessed for all relevant information about the campaign. Please visit it soon to sign the petition which will be sent to Homeland Security and other officials.  You may also feel inclined to submit your own testimonial online, make donations or view photos and other news. It is important that we send links to the website to all our friends and associates. Additionally, we also have a stand alone online petition, Qatanani Seeks Justice, which is similar to the one on the A4Q website. To sign the petition, please log onto http://www.petitiononline.com/qat5871/petition.html.

The dedication, countless hours and unyielding faith of the over than 200 volunteers is a testament to our community's collective resolve to stand for what is right and to demand justice for the Imam and his family. Inshallah we will be victorious. For more information, please log onto www.qatanani.com. Media inquiries should be directed to Dr. Aref Assaf, 973-960-2673.