Deportation bid puzzles experts

The decision to deport the religious leader of a prominent Passaic County mosque has left legal experts and his supporters wondering why the government would refuse to issue a green card for a well-known, moderate Muslim leader.

The case against Imam Mohammad Qatanani hinges on whether he was convicted in an Israeli Military Court in 1993 and should have disclosed that to U.S. immigration investigators. The Palestinian cleric and his supporters argue that he was detained during a visit to the West Bank and released without charges. Only years later did he learn from U.S. officials, he said, that he had been charged with aiding terrorists.

The detention of Palestinian men was widespread during the first intifada of the early 1990s, when Palestinians clashed with Israeli army forces in the West Bank and Gaza. Experts on the region say it is likely that someone could be arrested, held for months, interrogated and released without a conviction.

"It is very common," said Jonathan Kuttab, a former lawyer in Israel and human rights advocate. "Israeli officials are authorized to hold Palestinians under administrative detention. There is no trial. There is no procedure."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials won't discuss the details of Qatanani's case. They have named one witness, an expert in Israeli law proceedings and terrorism. A spokesman at the Israeli consulate in New York declined to comment on the case.

Qatanani is well known in New Jersey for his efforts to create dialogue between the Muslim community and law enforcement, as well as other religious groups. The 44-year-old, who moved to Jordan to attend university in the 1980s, acknowledges belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The group, one of the largest Islamic organizations in the world, runs charities for the poor and is an affiliate of the ruling political party of Jordan. But Qatanani denies supporting Hamas, a Palestinian militant organization listed by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization, and says he has done nothing but promote peace and understanding among different faiths.

In 1993, while returning to the West Bank to visit family, Qatanani was detained by Israeli police, according to Claudia Slovinsky, a New York City immigration lawyer representing him. For weeks, police interrogated him for his connections to possible terrorist groups, he said.

Qatanani said he never received a trial in an Israeli Military Court, where he would have faced criminal charges under the country's legal system. Instead, Slovinsky argues, Qatanani was held in administrative detention, as happens to thousands of Palestinians every year. Those released do not receive records of the detention, according to Kuttab, the human rights advocate.

The U.S. case against Qatanani revolves around photocopied, uncertified documents from Israel, Slovinsky said.

According to Joe Stork, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Human Rights Watch, a Palestinian released after a three-month detention without trial was likely not involved in terrorism.

In 1996, Qatanani immigrated to America with his wife and children on a religious visa. Three years later, he applied for a green card. In July 2006, the government denied his application, and deportation proceedings began against him, his wife and three of his six children.

Qatanani said he never withheld information from immigration officials and even discussed his detention in interviews with them, according to Slovinsky.

As his green card application has dragged on, it has taken a toll on him and his family. His legal status has barred him from getting a driver's license, his teenagers cannot apply for college scholarships, and he fears having to leave his hundreds of supporters in North Jersey.

"I love America," said Qatanani, before leading afternoon prayer at the Paterson mosque on Monday. "I've worked hard to build a lot bridges here."

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